Calm After the Storm
by isphira
Summary: They had all seen things that no teenager should. Pain, suffering, death, killing just to ensure your own survival. War. At the age of 15, they had seen things veterans fives times their own age have nightmares about. Complete! Sequel is 'Contagion'
1. Chapter 1

Calm After the Storm

Ichigo walked down the familiar street leading to Karakura High with his hands in his pockets. The street hadn't changed, his school hadn't changed, not even the uniform had changed.

Ichigo had changed, though not everyone could see.

It being merely the second week of the fall semester, the air was unusually chilly for late August, promising an equally cold winter ahead. Ichigo, 16 years old now, shrugged off the cold and a few memories along with it.

"_Oi, Ichigo! Are you insane? Come inside before you freeze to death and do the enemy a favor!"_

"_I will in a minute."_

Shrugging again at the memories, Ichigo walked for a few more minutes before he saw the gate of his high school. He paused in his walk for a brief moment, taking his hands out of his pockets and running them through his hair (making sure it was still as messy as it was when he had left his house) and rubbed his face tiredly, setting a relaxed look on his face. Gone was the frown that many in his freshman class had thought was permanently etched on his face. He looked like a normal human being now.

The teachers and most of the students who had been in the same class as Ichigo last year wondered what had happened to make him as happy as he was since that first day of classes. Some figured there was a girl involved, others thought that maybe a long lost relative close to death had decided to grant his family a fortune in inheritance. Whatever their theories, they thought it was an improvement to the ever-present scowl from before.

"_Hey, I heard that the mission went well today."_

"_Yeah." Smiling, Ichigo looked over his shoulder at the redhead. "The rookie was caught in the arm, but Hanatarou fixed him up."_

_Renji raised an eyebrow at the teen and promptly kicked him in the back, dumping him face first in the white desert sand. Said teen looked up at Renji and glared at him._

"_Oi!! What the–!"_

"_Stop smiling, it wasn't your fault the idiot got his arm slashed." Ichigo adjusted himself into a more comfortable sitting position, crossed his arms and looked away from Renji but he did as he was told. Renji sat down next to the teen leaning back on his hands._

"… _Idiot."_

"_Whatever."_

Only a select few knew that the smile was merely a refined mask, one that merely got him into less trouble. Most of the time anyway. He let the mask drop when he was alone or when he was with his friends, but with his family or in public he donned the mask.

Ichigo closed his eyes and opening them again he fixed a bright smile on his face. He continued his walk to the school, his hands placed once again in his pockets. Entering through the gate, he saw the group of girls standing in a tight huddle, giggling and sneaking sideways looks at him, but he ignored them and walked straight to a different group on the other end of the lawn that replaced concrete pathways.

His friends sat in a circle, talking about nonsense (as usual) and he dropped his bag down next to them, and settled himself to sitting in his usual spot. They were all there: Chad, Inoue, Ishida, Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro.

They were all there…

The old group looked at Ichigo and silently regarded the smile on Ichigo's face, then went back to their conversations (or silence in Chad's case).

"_Do you really want to know where they have gone?"_

"_Of course we do!" Mizuiro almost yelled, surprising Tatsuki and Keigo. _

_Urahara flapped his fan slowly, looking at the three teenagers across from him. He sighed at the thought of what Ichigo would do to him for getting them involved. He snapped his fan closed and turned to the ladder looming at the entrance of the cavernous training grounds and walked away from Ichigo's friends._

"_Well, if that's the case," he said brightly, waving his 'cane' in the air, "why don't we enjoy some tea! If you really want to know where they have gone, you will need to understand where they have been._

"_And let me tell you," he looked back at them with saddened eyes, "you're lucky their story has had a happy ending so far, even if it is far from finished."_

"Hey guys!" Keigo shouted suddenly, effectively cutting their conversations short. "There is this club downtown that is supposed to be awesome! We should go and hang out for a while!"

There was silence for a minute, everybody thinking of the plans they had made for the coming weekend. Soon, they all voiced their agreement to go, in their own ways. Ishida pushed up his glasses, causing the sun to reflect from them and he agreed saying he didn't have anything else to do. Chad simply nodded his head, playing with a blade of grass he had plucked form the ground in front of him.

"I think it would be fun to go!" said Orihime, and she and Tatsuki began to chat excitedly about the snacks they could bring (or not) to the park that they decided they would play at afterwards.

Ichigo smiled and nodded his consent about going as well.

Mizuiro said somewhat slyly, "I wonder if Natsumi and Harumi would like to come too." Everyone looked at the baby faced playboy and sweatdropped. He just _had_ to go and mention his girlfriends, didn't he?

And right on cue, Keigo cried rivers and said piteously, "It's not fair!!" They rolled their eyes at the dramatic scene playing out before them and simply ignored Keigo's shenanigans. (A/N: Yes I actually used that word. I couldn't help it, it's just so… Keigo!) The first bell rang, announcing to the students that if they didn't get going they would be late for class.

Almost immediately following the ringing bell was the unmistakable scream of a hollow nearby and the shriek of Ichigo's substitute shinigami badge. The group stiffened and Ichigo let the smile drop from his face, his old frown replacing it. They all looked at Ichigo and watched him stand and grasp the badge hanging from a belt loop. He quickly untied it and pressed it firmly against his chest, effectively knocking his soul out of his body in a flash of light. He tossed the badge to Tatsuki, who would keep it safe until he returned, and then he was gone in the blink of an eye, using shunpo to quickly reach the hollow before it hurt anyone.

The group stayed silent. Chad wordlessly picked up Ichigo's body and deposited it into the nearby plot of bushes that they had hid his body in before, so Ichigo knew where it was when he was finished with the hollow. If luck was on his side, the hollow would be weak, thus not making him too late to class.

The group silently walked to their classroom, thinking of all that had happened to them; all that had changed in a single year of their lives. They had all seen things that no teenager should. Pain, suffering, death, killing just to ensure your own survival. War.

At the age of 15, they had seen things veterans fives times their own age still have nightmares of.

Jerked from their thoughts, they dashed to class when the second bell rang.

_They sat in a circle silently around Orihime as she healed Keigo of his wounds from the recent hollow attacks. It had been an ambush and they had all let their guard down, enjoying the few minutes of the day when they didn't have to think about anything other than joy of a peaceful moment. _

_"Che..." mumbled Keigo, regarding the quiet group with soft humor in his eyes. "Who had to die to make you all this quiet? I'll have to thank the brainless idiot." They chuckled softly, with a small amount of relief that their friend hadn't changed even after everything. Ichigo stood suddenly and walked off with his hands clenched. Keigo watched him go and called out._

_"Yo! Save some for me later!" Ichigo continued walking, then using Shunpo._

_A shinigami scout reported the next day of an area in the enemies territory he had seen. The area was said to have been a major camp of hollows, nearly 500 had been there the day before. There were no bodies to be reported, but the typical white sand of the desert had been drenched in blood at least five inches deep._

X X X X X X X X

Ichigo followed the reiatsu of the hollow as it hunted for a soul. He grasped the hilt of Zangetsu, ready to release the bindings when the hollow's reiatsu suddenly disappeared. Ichigo's frown deepened and he quickened his step, worried that he might be too late. He arrived soon enough to see the disintegration of the hollow, but that was irrelevant to the two figures he saw standing in front of him now, one facing him, the other still facing away. His eyes widened in surprise for a moment, then softened and a genuine smile graced his features.

She turned to him, sheathing her zanpakutou and smirked at him.

"Did you get slower or are you just getting lazy?"

"Hey Rukia, hey Renji."

* * *

Well, there it is... I will probably continue this, I just need to think about it. I hadn't really thought about it before, just started writing. Oh well! 

I will put the disclaimer here: I don't own Bleach, as if it isn't blatantly obvious enough.

And as always, reviews are very appreciated! Let me know if I should continue... I really don't have a clue where this will go, it was supposed to be a oneshot, but it felt right to end here.


	2. Chapter 2

Calm After the Storm  
Chapter 2

The two Shinigami and Ichigo walked back to the high school (only walking after assuring Rukia he was already late, so a few more minutes wouldn't matter). They talked about Soul Society, how the repairs were going and gossiping about all the latest smut accumulated by the SWA.

Nothing of true significance was touched on, just comfortable small talk between friends.

Finally reaching the gate once again, Ichigo sighed inwardly at his continued act. He walked directly to the designated bush shelter and entered his body smoothly.

"Hey, Ichigo," said Renji. "We're gonna hang out in your class. I want to see that crazy sensei of yours."

Smirking, Ichigo said, "What, does Red Pineapple-san have a crush??" Renji turned bright red and grabbed the hilt of his zanpakutou.

"Howl! Zabimaru!!" Rukia rushed to grab him and hold him back, yelling at Ichigo to escape while he still had legs. The teen didn't hesitate to comply, but ran laughing his head off obnoxiously back to class.

Renji relaxed and Rukia let go of her old friend. The two of them gazed after the orange haired Shinigami.

"He seems to be a little better," said Rukia quietly. Renji rubbed his temple, a frown on his face.

"Man…"

xlxlxlx

After enduring the head smacking from his sensei Ichigo walked to his seat and took out the notebook he used to take notes.

"_Kon!"_

_The Mod-soul swung around at the familiar voice in shock. Ichigo (the owner of the body he was currently renting) stood on the other side of the street._

"_Ichigo…" Kon whispered the name. He would never admit it, but he had missed the stubborn idiot, and worried about when he would return. If he would return at all._

_Kon finished putting the garbage into the trashcans on the curb as Ichigo walked across the street. Brushing his hands together and giving himself time to think of something to say, they faced each other._

_Ichigo had grown up since Kon had last seen him. Sure, he occupied the body and everything, but he didn't pay attention to the details. Seeing Ichigo other than in the mirror he observed that Ichigo gotten more muscular, broader in the shoulders and he held himself differently, his posture probably affected by the months of battle. What Kon noticed most was the slight smile gracing Ichigo's features. He smiled a little in return, glad to see him back._

_If anybody had come across the scene (if they could see anything other than the friendly neighbor kid talking to himself) they might have thought a past life had come to meet his reincarnated self… or it was simply a movie set._

_Kon spoke up first. "I did what you said. I took notes and I frowned all the time…" and he grimaced at the memory of the headaches that came with came with his efforts._

"_Thanks Kon," said Ichigo, and his eyes darkened a little. "How is…"_

"_They're fine!" Kon said hurriedly, waving his hands in the air to stop Ichigo's train of thought. "I told you, I did what you said." Ichigo nodded._

"_Although, I may have dropped the act a few times." Ichigo merely waved his hand in the air dismissively._

"_It doesn't matter," he said lightly. He grasped Kon's (his body's)_ _shoulder, leading him to the front door. Kon barely registered Ichigo's other hand swiftly press the familiar badge to his chest before he was on the ground in his pill form. Ichigo leapt into his body before it had the chance to fall to the ground. He didn't want to have a concussion the first day he was back in his body in eight months._

_Even so he winced slightly when he entered his body. It had been a long time, and he felt unusually heavy and sluggish. He stretched for a minute, trying to get used to the restriction. He felt better soon, and he leaned over to pick up the discarded Kon-pill._

"_Now how about you become an annoying lion again so I can kick you around?" He could almost feel the glare._

Ichigo was broken out of his memory of his first day home by a sense of danger coming his way. He ducked his head down and to the left, dodging the projectile.

He looked around, first noticing the previously fuming sensei's shocked expression. Looking quickly around him, he saw his classmates staring at him with the same expression. He glanced behind himself at the guy sitting silently. He had a single piece of chalk embedded in the middle of his forehead. He fell stunned from his chair.

Ichigo quickly realized his mistake and hurriedly tried to cover it up.

"Ehehehe, lucky…?" Everybody in the class sweatdropped at the embodiment of rage that was their sensei. This time Ichigo simply closed his eyes and let the chalk hit him. The teacher turned back to the chalkboard.

"Consider yourself warned, Kurosaki!"

"Hai, sensei," he said with a smile.

Renji and Rukia withdrew their heads from peaking through the door. The taller snickered at the look on the kid's face when he was hit with the chalk. Ah, he would have done anything for a video camera.

Rukia however was more subdued. "Renji."

"What?" he snorted. "Man, did you see that kid?! Keeled right over!" Which only sent him into another fit of snickering.

A vein popped in Rukia's forehead. "Idiot!" She yelled at him and kicked him in the butt, sending him flying across the hall. She stalked over to him and proceeded to stomp on his head till he had settled down.

"Okay, okay, I give!" He stood up and dusted himself off.

"Let's go to the roof. It will be the lunchbreak soon. If I'm right, they will all meet up there."

"Aw, I wanted to watch some more!" He said, only half teasing. He was rewarded with silence and he sighed as he walked off after the short woman.

Halfway to their destination, Rukia asked Renji quietly, "Did you watch Ichigo?" Renji sighed.

"Yeah, I saw. He was probably back in Hueco Mundo for an instant when that sensei threw the chalk."

They were silent again until they reached the roof. They walked through the door and made themselves comfortable, Renji laying down on his back with his arms crossed under his head, Rukia sitting in her spot against the fence that enclosed the roof.

She drew her knees up to her chest and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "What have we done Renji? He's only 16 years old!"

Renji was silent as he looked at the sky It was a beautiful day. Soft clouds drifted serenely across the vast blue sky without a care in the world, almost as if to say the world itself was crazy to be worried about anything.

"I'm not going to comfort you Rukia. We did what we had to do, all of us. You know as well as I that if the humans hadn't joined us, the Winter War would have gone on for years. We are extremely lucky it was only a year long _with _the humans' help."

"That shouldn't matter!" Rukia balled her hands into tight fists. "They are children! They should have been playing in arcades, slaving over homework, worrying about what to wear over vacation, _not_ about whether they would live long enough to see their families again or—!"

"Shut up, Rukia." Renji sat up quickly, and Rukia stood. They had been so engrossed in their argument they hadn't heard or felt Ichigo or any of the others standing there listening.

Rukia frowned, opened her mouth to speak.

"Be. Quiet." He said quietly, his reiatsu rising a bit in response to his emotions.

Ichigo silently walked from the doorway, the others just as silently following. The two stunned Shinigami realized that none of the others were surprised at the Ichigo's behavior or tone of voice.

They had seen him without any masks. No facades were shown to Rukia and Renji now, just unbridled anger and sadness in his eyes.

Renji stood up as well, making his way to Rukia. He gazed at them each in turn.

Orihime's hands clasped in front of her looking at the ground, but no less determined than the others.

Mizuiro looking at them calmly.

Chad, directly behind Ichigo with his hands fisted at his sides.

Tatsuki squatted with her arms resting on her knees, an eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face.

Keigo had his hands behind his head, whistling a merry little tune off pitch, only watching Ichigo.

Ishida's left hand tucked under his arm, pushing his glasses higher on his nose with a glint.

Ichigo standing with his feet spread wide, arms crossed, ready for a fight.

It seemed to Renji that no where else in the world (or even in Soul Society among all the squads) was there a bond, a _family_, a strong as this.

"Renji is right Rukia," Ichigo said (effectively shocking Renji… 'He agreed with me!') "Soul Society didn't have a choice about using us in the War. It's what happens, and it's no different than a human nation asking an ally for help defending against invasion.

"This is no different," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the group behind him. "We all knew what we up against, even Mizuiro. We had all been changed beyond ever returning to the way things used to be, beyond even wanting to. We have been adults, _I_ have, since we gained our powers, and learned how to use them. "

He hmphed and looked at the fence and the city stretching out behind the Shinigami. Then he looked at them again with steel in his eyes.

"Don't you _dare_ insult us anymore by thinking we were too young to understand our decision to protect our town and our families! Why the hell do you think we even considered going? Because we thought it would be fun, or we would fighting for fame and honor and glory?! Don't make me laugh. You said we were too young to fight, well I guess we're too young for glory too, because _we don't give a damn!!!_

"If anything, get this through your skulls before you talk to us again about being too young. We fought to _protect_. We didn't fight for the world, not for Soul Society, not to gain the praise and admiration of anyone, not even for ourselves. We fought for each other and what is precious to us."

He turned and walked back to the door and down the stairs, not looking back, not the least bit hungry. The group filed out after him, sparing one last glance at the frozen figures staring after them. Orihime and Mizuiro bowed shortly, then left through the door as well.

The last to leave was Chad. He paused with his hand on the door knob, ready to close the door behind him. Looking back, he spoke a sentence that made the Shinigamis' blood run cold.

"I suggest you take a while and think about what Ichigo said," he rumbled quietly. "Or Soul Society will lose him for good." Then he was gone with a soft click of the door closing.

* * *

Well, there it is! The second chapter! This has really surprised me, I didn't know I would be going in this direction. Poor Ichigo and Co.! 

I will try and focus more on flashbacks next chapter, since I only fit in one this time. If you haven't noticed yet, I am using the random flashbacks to focus on the changes between the characters, and how they developed over the course of the War. There will also be a confrontation again between Renji and Rukia and Ichigo, although not nearly as intense.

Well, the ever present disclaimer: I no own Bleach! Not even for my laundry!

PS: If you don't know, SWA is the Shinigami Women's Association and reviews feed orphaned kitties and puppies around the world!!! SAVE THE KITTIES!!!!!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Calm After the Storm  
Chapter 3

"Ichigo-kun…" said Orihime.

"Yeah I know, just give me a minute."

Mizuiro chuckled lightly. "If we do that students are gonna collapse."

Ichigo looked up from pacing the baseball bleachers they had situated themselves on. "Oh…" and he took a deep breath, reigning in his reiatsu. "Sorry."

Keigo shrugged. "Unfortunately there aren't armies of hollows you can wail on anymore. Wouldn't that be convenient?! I still wish you had at least left me one to play with." The orange haired teen merely rolled his eyes and continued to pace.

"Get over it, I was angry."

"What do you think they will do?" Ishida commented, without looking away from the embroidery he was working on.

Ichigo's steps faltered slightly, then resumed. "I didn't mean to lose it like that. Man, why don't they understand?!"

Tatsuki looked at him and said, "You know why. Shinigami see things in black and white. Being simple for them is almost a necessity. We are gray, complicated. We don't fit into their calculations."

"Maybe they didn't realized what they were asking us to do when they came to us in the first place. They knew they needed help so they went out and got it, no matter who it may be," said Orihime.

"_Kurosaki Ichigo," said a voice at his window. The teen leapt from his chair, knocking it to the floor. He had thought it would be a peaceful, boring evening with his homework. 'So much for that…'_

_Withdrawing his hand from the badge at his waist, he straightened and nodded in the intruder's direction. "Toushirou."_

"_Gather your human companions together and meet at Urahara Shouten one hour from now." Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the missing reminder to use the proper title._

"_What is going on?" asked Ichigo suspiciously._

"_We're ready," is all the white haired captain said, and he left. Ichigo's eyes widened and he immediately grabbed his cell phone._

_xlxlxlx_

_It was deadly silent around the table. Hitsugaya-taicho, Matsumoto-fukutaicho, and Rukia sat across from Ichigo and all his friends. Urahara and his staff sat to either side. Yoruichi also was there, on top of Urahara's striped hat in her cat form._

"_So you want our help, huh?" Ichigo said with a sigh. He turned his head back and forth, looking over his shoulder at his friends by his side. "Are you stupid? I thought Soul Society was a little messed up but this…" his voiced faded and he shook his head, a pitying look on his face._

"_Kurosaki!" yelled the white haired taicho slamming his hand down on the table. Ichigo set his elbows on the table and his head in his hands, looking at him calmly._

"_Just joking, shrimp. Chill out."_

_Chad spoke up. "What about our lives here? We can't just disappear off the face of the planet without a trace."_

_Urahara raised up his fan to direct their attention to him. "I have already fixed this dilemma. You will each have a gigai made in exact replication of your real bodies, occupied by mod-souls matching your personalities as well."_

"_Do you know how long, roughly, the war will be going on?" asked Tatsuki frowning, staring at Hitsugaya. A silence permeated the air, Hitsugaya looked at the humans._

"_We don't know," said Matsumoto. "The number of Arrancar is unknown, although we do know that for some reason Aizen is holding back from creating an army for now."_

_The significance of this information wasn't lost on the humans. Keigo crossed his arms._

"_So you're saying Soul Society is asking us to walk into Hueco Mundo without any idea about the enemy, abandoning our lives here. Just because you ask."_

"_Yes," said Hitsugaya icily._

"_Che," said Ichigo. He leaned back on his hands. "I guess we don't have anything better to do. Besides, it's not like we would _let _those monsters destroy our town."_

Ichigo sat heavily onto the bleachers.

"They knew," he stated. "They just didn't care as long as they got us to fight." They all fell silent after that, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Do you remember after that first battle when we all met in the middle?" asked Chad.

"Yeah," said Orihime. She adjusted her hair clips absently. "We were all tired and shocked. We walked off and that was the first time we sat in our circle."

At the mention of their circle they looked around at each other and laughed. They had all sat down in their circle on the bleachers around the pacing Ichigo without even realizing what they were doing. It felt good to laugh and release the pent up tension from the argument on the roof.

Ichigo sighed. "I guess they'll want to talk again when school let's out."

"Do you want us to be there?" Chad asked.

"Nah. I can handle it. I need to figure out what they came here for in the first place. Besides, I think I can deal with two little Shinigami."

xlxlxlx

The group ended up walking back to class and finishing the day without any mishaps. None of them spotted the two Shinigami either for which they were all thankful. Ichigo had been the spokesperson up on the roof because he knew they all felt the same way. Likewise, everyone knew that because he was so close to Rukia and Renji that he would be able to get the point across the best.

Ichigo and everyone else parted and went home to go about their daily lives.

_Sticking Kon into his jeans pocket, Ichigo walked to the front door of the house section of the clinic. He honestly didn't know why he had expected any other greeting._

"IIICHIIGOOOO!!!!!!" Predictable flying kick to the head: dodged. His idiot father: outside between the two toppled trashcans. Ichigo closed and locked the door behind him, not looking back.

"Hey Yuzu, Karin!"

"Welcome home Ichi-nii!" They said in response. Yuzu peeked out of the kitchen from behind the wall and waved a wooden spoon at him.

"Dinner is going to be American tonight!" (A/N: Shut up, I was too lazy to think of something Japanese) Ichigo dropped his bag down by the stairs.

"Sounds good," said the teen as he lay down on the couch, head propped up on one end, feet on the other, pointedly ignoring his father's pleas to be let back in. He reached for the remote and surfed through the channels on the TV, finally settling on watching a rerun of Naruto.

Karin walked over from the kitchen table (and homework) and hopped onto Ichigo's stomach. His breath left him in a huff and he playfully punched her in the shoulder. He adjusted himself to be more comfortable, but otherwise let her remain to watch the anime with him.

"How was school today, Ichi-nii?"

"School is school, it never changes. How about you?"

"We finally got around to playing soccer in gym today. If we didn't get there soon, I might have exploded."

"Thanks goodness you didn't explode then, eh?" Karin only nodded and the two of them continued watching in silence. At some point Yuzu came in and sat on the floor next to Karin's legs and Ichigo's head. This had become a ritual for them since Ichigo had gotten back. Sometimes it would be Yuzu situated on his stomach and Karin on the floor, but otherwise it was the same every afternoon.

Too soon the episode was over and Isshin had finally found a window he could climb through. The siblings got up to continue their individual tasks. Karin seemed almost downcast at the prospect of her waiting homework. Yuzu went to the kitchen to prepare the salad. Ichigo stretched and stood up. He turned off the TV and leaned down to grab his school bag.

He had a suspicious feeling his room wasn't unoccupied. He concentrated, looking for the familiar reiatsu as he climbed the stairs. He smirked. They were almost too predictable.

Knowing a smile wouldn't fool them after his display on the roof, he simply wiped his face of emotion and opened the door. Renji and Rukia were indeed there, and he guessed they had been there ever since he had left the roof. The taller of the two leaned against the closet door while Rukia sat on the edge of his bed. Ichigo ignored them as long as he could and walked to his desk. He placed his bag next to it, leaning down slightly so it wouldn't have as far to drop, and he straightened.

"... What do you want?" Ichigo finally asked. He moved to the wall opposite his desk and looked at the Shinigami.

Millions of questions assaulted Rukia's brain. She wasn't sure what would set him off again and she would have to be careful, he already looked like he was walking on eggshells.

"Why didn't you say something before?" she asked hesitantly.

"Wasn't your problem," he said dismissively.

"Bull!" countered Renji. "We're your friends. You can talk to us." Ichigo closed his eyes.

"_ICHIGO!!!" shouted Mizuiro. Ichigo turned his head sharply in his direction, seeing him point at a distant hill. He squinted his eyes slightly, trying to see what Mizuiro was so frantic about. He realized then what he saw. Tatsuki running up the hill, power fully manifested, her spiked fist raised to strike._

_Ulquiorra standing calmly at the top of that hill._

_Ichigo quickly cut down the hollow that attacked him._

"_Idiot!!!" he screamed, knowing his voice couldn't reach her, not caring. He used the momentary lull in the fight to swing Zangetsu around to the front, his left hand bracing his arm._

"_BANKAI!!!!" The discharge of reiatsu knocked down hollows and Shinigami alike, clearing his path to the hill. He was halfway there when Tatsuki swung down at Ulquiorra. Ten feet away when the Espada dodged and used his hand to spear Tatsuki in the stomach, causing the girl to cough blood. Five feet away when Ulquiorra kicked her away. Ichigo drew his left hand over his face, his eyes hard as stone, his mask fully formed._

_Ulquiorra died that day._

"Ichigo?" said Renji. The teen opened his eyes, sighing at the memory.

"I'm pretty sure you don't want to know."

"And how could you know that? You're seven different kinds of idiot if you think we can't handle whatever it is you won't tell us." Ichigo scowled at them, his hold on his temper fraying. He looked at them one at a time, wondering if it was a good idea to tell them or not.

'Whatever,' he thought. 'They will find out sooner or later, so why not sooner. They need to understand.'

"Did you know," said Ichigo quietly, but no less intensely than his speech on the roof. "Aizen was right to try to capture Orihime. He realized when we didn't how powerful she truly is.

"… Chad four times, because he never knows when to stay down. Ishida twice, Tatsuki twice. Keigo three times simply because he is an idiot. Mizuiro once… he's the smartest fighter out of all of us. Myself, I stopped counting after five."

The Shinigami stared at him in confusion.

"She can't do it for just anyone. She said herself: to reject at that level she needs to have some sort of bond with the… afflicted." Ichigo chuckled to himself.

Rukia's eyes widened slightly. "Ichigo…"

Ichigo crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling for a minute. He set his shoulders squarely and looked back at them.

"That's the number of times we have died."

* * *

How was that? The conversation will continue next chapter, but I stopped here for the shock effect. I had no idea I was going to write this anyway, it just kind of popped into my head and I was like "Sweet!" So I wrote it.

If you were kind of confused at the little flashback paragraph, it was a continuation of Ichigo's first day home. I was being sneaky! Also, you got to see a little of Tatsuki's power.

By the way, 'this is thinking'. I forgot to mention that before, sorry.

And also!!! Thanks to my wonderful reviewers!! You are the bestest!!!!!

Disclaimer time: I don't own Bleach or Naruto (I just _had_ to put that in, I love Naruto)


	4. Chapter 4

Calm After the Storm  
Chapter 4

Dead silence. The two shinigami could only stare, dumbstruck at what Ichigo had told them. He in turn stared back at them, his eyes narrowing slightly, daring them to discount his words. It was a long time before anyone spoke. The air was heavy with tension and disbelief.

"You're lying! It's not _possible_!!" Renji shouted suddenly.

"Obviously it is, because I'm talking to you right now."

"So we are supposed to believe that you have died more than once and you are alive again because Inoue _rejected your_ _death_?!"

"Yes."

"I can't accept that!" he yelled, and he paced the floor in agitation. Rukia still sat and stared. To think her friend was powerful enough to fight against fate's plan and win…

"Why," said Ichigo quietly. Renji obviously didn't detect the underlying danger in the tone.

"Because you are alive, damnit!" the redhead shouted and turned sharply on the teen. He was livid, his hands fisted and shaking with the intensity of his emotions. "What about all people that had to die and _stay_ dead, huh?! They are gone and you still get to go to school with your friends and live when they dies to protect that life of yours!" He stopped suddenly, panting for breathe. He looked at Ichigo, whose eyes were hidden by his hair.

The instant Renji could feel the reiatsu explode he was spinning and landing in a heap on the floor. He felt his robes being tugged and he was punched to the floor again.

Ichigo knelt with one knee on Renji's chest. His hands closed around Renji's neck.

Rukia finally reacted (she had barely even seen Ichigo move). She lunged off the bed towards Ichigo, tried to grab his shoulders to pull him off the weakening Renji. She was roughly shoved away and she fell to one knee.

She desperately yelled out, "First Restraint! Obstruction!!" Ichigo's arms twisted themselves behind his back and Rukia threw him off of Renji, who coughed violently. The man raised himself up on one elbow and gingerly touched his throat. Rukia knelt next to him.

"You…" he growled. Never had the two Shinigami heard this tone of voice from the teen. They both jumped when they felt the spell Rukai had cast collapse. Ichigo slowly got to his feet, prompting the others to do the same. Rukia grasped the hilt of her zanpakuto.

"_You bastard!!!_ What right do you have to judge us?!! You have no clue, nether of you can fathom what we went through in that war!!"

Rukia suppressed the urge to back away from the enraged teen. Had she really thought that the anger he had shown on the roof was the full depth of his feelings? Compared to now, that was merely a fit thrown by a spoiled child. Ichigo's eyes blazed with fury and Rukia thought she saw a hint of madness as well, as if his hollow had escaped through Ichigo's raw emotions.

"You talk about the Shinigami that died in battle like I don't acknowledge their deaths. They were my friends too you asshole! I was in that war too! _We died too!!_ We _did_ give our lives in that Godforsaken war, and believe me, once is too much!" He stared pointedly at Renji.

"Imagine this and then tell me what I am supposed to feel. You are in the middle of battle, impossibly outnumbered. The only ones left are you and your childhood friend. You have been fighting for hours without a single instant of rest and now your reiatsu is depleted, your blood is staining your robes just as much as the hollows you have cut down. Back to back with her, you realize you probably won't live through the battle, but you still fight, still struggle to stand despite exhaustion because you know if you fall she will die. You know you're the only one who could survive.

"You see a hollow rush at her by chance but your reflexes are too slow, can barely raise your arm, hardly speak, _scream_ at her to turn around. As she finishes one hollow the other raises its claws, cuts her back to shreds. She drops with a surprised look, not even able to register that she will definitely be dead in another minute, can't even recognize the pain. You lose control completely. You see everything in slow motion, hollows are hardly moving any longer. You can't even tell one hollow from another, not even able to see anything else besides the masks; you would probably have cut down any Shinigami that had been there if they all hadn't been dead already.

"You find yourself again in the midst of a desert stained red, and you are next to her again. You reach out but are afraid to touch her. The girl you grew up with is dying because you were too weak to stand and kill one more hollow.

"But after everything she is smiling through the pain because _you_ are still alive, still breathing. She tells you to continue to fight and be strong, to look after everyone no matter what. You hold back the urge to scream at her that if you can't even protect _her_ against simple hollows how you could possibly protect others.

"She smiles again and closes her eyes. They are still half open when you see them glaze over, lifeless. She's dead and you couldn't do anything!!"

Renji and Rukia couldn't even think they were so astonished at the intensity of what Ichigo was saying. The teen wasn't even looking at them anymore. His eyes were wide and unfocused… as if he were reliving every moment of this battle and the death of one of his friends.

"You sit there beside her for a while… five minutes, five years, it doesn't matter." A softness came into his eyes. "Then you see a yellow dome envelope her still body. Orihime is trying to heal her. You shake your head; try to tell her it's useless, she is already gone. You see the determination in Orihime's eyes. You don't dare hope for even a second that _maybe _she might be able to bring her back, to fix your mistake. But however you try to convince yourself, the hope that determined look sparks in you is so strong you can barely breathe. After hours, wounds are healed. All that is left is an empty shell.

"You see a twitch of a finger, her eyes flutter open slowly. The glassy film retreats and gives way to life. A gasp of breath tells you for sure that she is alive again. Your heart soars with joy and relief and excitement stronger than you have ever felt in all the years you have been alive. You vow you will never let a friend die again." Ichigo's mood darkened again.

"A new battle comes. Friends are fighting. An ambush is perfectly executed. It doesn't take long for desperation to settle, draining you more thoroughly than fighting an army of hollows by yourself. Something whispers in the back of your mind that you will break your vow.

"They die anyway, no matter what you try to do, how quickly you try to reach them. The hope instilled in you from the healing flies away from you. Orihime can't possibly do it all over again. They always smile.

"They all die in turn, and even you experience it eventually. You have to endure the pain over and over. You discover for the first time that Orihime can't bring everyone back, and you almost break from the grief. When you think that maybe you can't take it anymore and you will just die in your sleep because the grief is so great, you wake up to a brand new day, new battle, new death. Your heart has been ripped apart so many times you feel like you should be joining the hollows instead of fighting them.

"But you continue to live because _they_ do, and you vowed to keep them safe, even at the cost of you own life. We lived because we were able to see each other, be together, share our grief and pain in the night. We could smile. Even if we knew that it was strained, worn, thin, it was still there and we were still together. It was worth it to wake up to a new day to see them all alive." Finally Ichigo fell silent for a few moments, letting silence fill the room.

He continued. "Do you get it now? Maybe, maybe not. I don't expect you to really know what I am talking about all of a sudden, but I do expect you to keep your mouth shut about things you don't know."

Ichigo's eyes had focused on them again. He felt drained of all his energy and anger, and only a deep sadness was present. He breathed heavily after speaking so much. He stepped back until he lightly bumped into the wall behind him, and he was sliding to the floor before he realized his knees had given out. He let his legs stretch out in front of him, his arms hung limply by his sides, his head sunk to his chest.

It was silent again. Never had Rukia or Renji thought that they would see Ichigo so defeated, so weary as he seemed in that moment. He was Ichigo for crying out loud. A hero of the Winter War.

Rukia's thought's stopped suddenly. She realized that no matter what he'd said on the roof of Karakura High School he is still sixteen years old.

'I can't begin to imagine being sixteen and having the responsibility of saving the world… no, saving the existence of life as we know it.'

Rukia and Renji glanced at each other. Their instincts screamed at them that if they didn't do something now to bring the teen back to trusting them after all the wrong and stupid things they had said the orange-haired Shinigami would retreat from them, never show his true feelings again.

In silence the two walked towards Ichigo. Separating to either side of him, they sat down against the wall. Renji raised a hand to place it firmly on Ichigo's shoulder and Rukia caught his arm into the crook of her elbow. They could feel the teen stiffen at their actions, but when he realized they weren't going to try anything he relaxed.

After a long time Ichigo raised his head to thump softly on the wall and sighed lightly. He felt better now that he knew his two friends wouldn't judge him or any of the others. It came to him that he needed to finish his explanation.

"It's hard for us because we are alive. We died and Orihime was able to bring us back, but there isn't a day that goes by that we don't think about all those Shinigami that died," he felt Renji squeeze his shoulder in a silent apology, and he nodded in return.

"Orihime hurts the worst out of all of us I think. She feels guilty that she wasn't powerful enough to save more lives. She will sometimes space out, which isn't unusual for her, but sometimes you can see she remembers those she couldn't bring back.

"Not to mention we all feel guilty for making her bring us back." Ichigo grimaced slightly.

"How does she do it?" asked Rukia, not sure is she would get an answer. The topic was apparently painful for Ichigo to discuss. Ichigo opened his mouth to reply, but then stayed silent and instead shook his head.

"If you want to know you have to ask her yourself. It's personal to her, and I don't think she would want me to tell you. You have promise me though: You _can not_ _tell anyone_ about this. Unohana-taicho knows already, and probably the old man… Yamamoto-soutaicho as well, but no one else. If it gets out that Orihime is that strong…" his voice faded out at the mere thought of the chaos that it would bring about.

"We understand, Ichigo," said Rukia softly. Another few minutes passed in silence before anything else was said.

"So why are you guys here anyway?"

"What? We can't come to terrorize you without a reason?" Rukia remarked, trying to play the innocent.

"As if that isn't reason enough for you, midget," Ichigo yelped when the skin on the inside of his arm was mercilessly pinched. Rukia huffed haughtily and Renji patted Ichigo's shoulder in sympathy. He had also been on the receiving end of those pinches… not good. Renji climbed to his feet with a small groan. He turned and offered a hand to Ichigo who took it gratefully. Rukia let go of his arm and hopped up before she was offered any help.

"Seriously though, what made you guys decide to come to the living world?" He repeated. He walked over to his desk, sat, and leaned over to pull a textbook about ancient Japanese history and placed it casually on the desk surface. He twisted to face the two Shinigami, a frown forming on his face, not liking the hesitation in their eyes.

Renji looked at Ichigo somewhat cautiously. After Ichigo's speech, he wasn't sure if tonight was the best night to tell him. Unfortunately the issue couldn't be avoided.

Rukia spoke first. "After the events of the Winter War," she said stiffly, "the substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo, the Quincy Ishida Uryuu, and the humans Inoue Orihime, Yasutora Sado, Arisawa Tatsuki, Asano Keigo, and Kojima Mizuiro have been called forward…" Here Rukia paused. Ichigo gripped the back of his chair.

"You have been called to stand before the taichos and fukutaichos of the Gotei 13 and the newly formed Central 46."

* * *

Well, sorry it took so long to get out! I had trouble with this chapter since I have to work really hard to make dialogue sound good. And if you are worried that this chapter doesn't look as long as the others, its actually the longest! I was so proud of it!! In my notebook I have two pages of solid Ichigo angst! Woot!!!!!

Anyway, as a disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

Sorry if there are any mistakes by the way, I didn't really feel like going through to check a second time... I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Tell me what you think! Reviews are my lifeblood!!


	5. Chapter 5

Calm After the Storm  
Chapter 5

"She said _what?!"_ Shouted Keigo in surprise.

"You heard me the first time. We have to go to Soul Society to listen to all the geezers talk," said Ichigo with an eyebrow raised.

Orihime grasped her hands together in her lap. "Did they say why?" Everyone sat under the trees in their usual spot in the school yard. Ichigo had called everyone the night before to tell them to meet up early before school started; he had something to tell them.

"I don't know. All Rukia and Renji had been told that there is this meeting and we have to attend. I'm pretty sure it's about the Winter War and what we had to do with it."

"It can't be that simple," stated Ishida. "If it was merely about our involvement in the war they wouldn't have waited this long to talk. It must be something bigger than that."

Everyone was quiet for a moment. At this time, students began trickling in through the gates, chatting about their plans for the coming weekend.

Ichigo shrugged and donned his mask for the students glancing in their direction. "There is a lot of things this meeting can be about, not all of them bad. In any case, we need to leave (officially) tomorrow so that we have the weekend to discuss things. And before you ask, I don't know why it would take a whole weekend to hold a meeting."

"Well, tomorrow is Friday, so it will have to wait until after school, right?" asked Tatsuki. Ichigo shook his head in response and leaned against the tree at his back.

"We are supposed to meet at Urahara's place at eight in the morning."

Keigo, who had hardly paid attention after the words 'meeting' and 'weekend,' wailed suddenly and clung to Chad's shirt pitiably, screeching about his glorious weekend going to waste in the drab place that was Soul Society. Apparently he had never gone barhopping with Ikkaku and Yumichika… He was ignored of course. Mizuiro turned to Ishida and asked about patching his spare uniform, and the topic of the trip to the spirit world was dropped.

The first bell rang across school grounds and they all gathered their bags. They would worry about the meeting tomorrow.

_xlxlxlx _

_The seven humans stood with their backs to the gate that would lead them back to Karakura Town. They faced instead a gathering of Shinigami not many had seen before in peace time. Thirteen taichos and their subordinates crowded around the humans. The silence indicated a somewhat heavy atmosphere as the soutaicho of the Gotei 13 walked forward to speak. _

"_Soul Society expresses its thanks for your dedication and contribution of your powers in our time of need. Without you many more lives would have been lost and perhaps a different conclusion to this war would have to seen._

"_Know that Soul Society is always open to you and we look forward to future cooperation between the living world and Soul Society." He inclined his head in a small bow and the other taichos did the same. Fukutaichos followed their taichos example. Lower seated Shinigami however sent up a deafening roar of approval._

_The humans smiled widely and even Ichigo had the brains to return the courtesy, and they bowed as well. They each turned as Yamamoto signaled the activation of the gate. The sudden bright light rendered their figures silhouettes as they approached. One turned around again as the others jumped in._

"_Just do us a favor and don't tick anyone off while were gone, eh? We don't wanna save your asses every week!" Ichigo decided that maybe it was time to go when he saw one of the soutaicho's crack open at the remark. The unabashed teen smirked and jumped through the gate._

xlxlxlx

Ichigo arrived home after school and went through his usual routine until dinner. He helped clear the table and wash dishes with Karin (their job since Yuzu cooks the meal), and they were finished Karin went to watch TV and Yuzu retreated to her room to finish her homework.

Ichigo sat back down at the table after some thought and his father noticed the thoughtful frown on his face. Isshin glanced at the larger-than-life poster of his wife and decided that maybe tonight wasn't the night for his usual antics. He sat opposite of his son, leaning back against and crossing his arms, he closed his eyes.

"Dad," said Ichigo warily. He almost sighed with relief when he saw his crazy father was going to be normal for a short while at least. "My friends and I have to go to Soul Society and meet with all the higher-ups tomorrow." At this Isshin's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Rukia and Renji came by the school, then here to tell me about it. They don't know why." He watched Isshin relax into a frown as he processed the information.

"_DAD??? What are you doing here… in a Shinigami uniform?!"_

"_What, did you think I would let you have all the fun?" He spin, cutting a hollow cleanly in two, leaving Ichigo a clear view of the remaining scrap of white cloth that looked suspiciously like a taicho's robe._

"_You're going to get your ass kicked later!!" He yelled as he took out his anger on another hollow. _

"_HAHAHAHA!!!! That's my boy!!"_

"_I'LL KILL YOU!!!"_

Ichigo decided to voice his own thoughts. "I don't think it's going to be pretty. Why would it be so secret if it was anything we would _like_ to hear? Not to mention Central 46 is involved. Since when have they taken an interest in us as long as we fight?"

"I agree. It can't be good if they won't tell Renji-san, who is a fukutaicho. Rukia hasn't heard anything at all either, and we know she and the Shinigami Women's Association always have their ears against doors." He opened an eye to smirk at his son effectively. "You haven't done anything _bad_ have you??"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Not recently."

"Then it is indeed most likely about the war. I don't know what to say besides you guys have to go, there's just no way out of it."

"I know. It's _killin'_ me that we don't know what to expect when we go to that stupid meeting. Even when we were rescuing Rukia we knew enough to have some confidence, but this…"

"Well there's nothing you can do for now." Isshin straightened and braced his hands on the table and stood up. He looked his son in the eye. "If they will go to such lengths to keep it a secret, then you better watch your backs." Ichigo nodded, a little taken aback at the thought that Soul Society might be willing to make an enemy out of him and his friends. Would they? Isshin rounded the table and put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder in silent support, then walked away to pounce onto the couch next to Karin. She elbowed him in the temple for making her bounce.

'It can't be that bad,' the teen thought. 'What would give them the reason to make us enemies? We haven't done anything.' Ichigo shook his head and made his way to the stairs, heading to his room. He would need to finish his homework tonight.

xlxlxlx

_Alarms rang throughout Seireitei, warning the divisions of a hollow attack in Rukongai. Ichigo jumped up, along with every other of his human friends. They dashed out of the building they had been enjoying their rest in and ran to the nearest division. Instead Tatsuki yelled at a Shinigami (who was rushing in the same direction) what district had been hit._

"_North 71!" He shouted back. Without going to headquarters they headed to the northern border of Seireitei. Ichigo asked one of their ever-present hell butterflies (gifted to them for communication reasons in emergencies) to tell the nearest taicho that they were going ahead and another to guide them to the district. No matter how fast a Shinigami traveled, the butterflies would never lag behind, and even stay ahead if a guide was needed. The group rushed over the normal pathways to avoid traffic; roofs were very useful for jaywalking._

_xlxlxlx_

_They arrived to find roughly 50 normal hollows and three lower level Arrancar. The district was already a mess: buildings collapsed, the smell of blood and death drenched the air. Ichigo, Chad, and Ishida went to take care of the Arrancar while Orihime set to work finding survivors. _

_Keigo's pistols were in his hands in an instant, shooting the hollows that approached Orihime as she worked. Mizuiro held his shinai (1) in front of his, his stance firm. He leapt forward to fight further from the girl. Tatsuki's tekko-kagi (2) slashed a hollow's mask into pieces, and she shoved her spiked heel into the knee of another, forcing it to lean down into another fierce slash, this time across the neck._

_It wasn't long before the Arrancar were done with. Keigo, Tatsuki, and Mizuiro had halved the original force. Just a few more minutes and it was over._

_This was the worst about the war. They attacked fast and at random, keeping the Shinigami on alert twenty-four hours a day. It was wearing them out, a little each day, they all knew it, and it wasn't going to get any better soon._

_Orihime continued to heal while giving orders to a butterfly to bring a squad of the fourth decision as fast as possible. Everyone else set about to searching for more surviving and gathering them together. Ichigo went further into the city to find where the attack had begun. The worst of the damage was close to the middle of the city, and also where the midday market had obviously been in full swing._

'_They know the best times to attack…' he thought grimly. He walked a little further, not finding any other souls that had survived the attack at its peak. He saw a flash of color out of the corner of his eye, drawing his eyes inadvertently to the source._

_Long red hair splayed out across the hard dirt ground. She had been crushed by falling debris. Ichigo walked closer hesitantly, his hands trembling slightly. He cleared the rocks from her back and legs. In the middle of his work as he picked up a stone by the woman's shoulder, he dropped his burden and took a step back. A small arm rested on the packed dirt, palm facing upwards, the fingers curved gently in. _

_It hit too close to home. The woman had obviously tried to protect the child using her own body as a shield, but it didn't matter. Ichigo backed farther away, but couldn't tear his eyes from the long red hair or the tiny hand. Memories plucked at his heart painfully._

"_Ichigo…" said someone at his side. He could hear another gasping for breath. He felt hands on his shoulders and he was turned roughly to face Tatsuki staring him in the eyes._

"_Breathe," she said gently, and Ichigo finally realized that the gasping was coming from him. He shuddered once, and breathed deeply._

"_They…"_

"_I know," she said. "Let me continue here, you go and help the others. Help the fourth." Ichigo nodded and walked off, his hands fisted, fighting desperately to keep the memories from overwhelming him, not quite succeeding. He saw again the souls he had found, and he shuddered again. He walked faster._

Ichigo sat up suddenly, breathing heavily. He ran a hand over his face tiredly, finding he was sweating. He glanced at the clock. It was six, which wasn't too early, only half an hour sooner than the alarm. He reached over and turned it off and he swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

'It's been a while since that memory came back to bite,' he thought. He shook his head and headed to take a shower.

xlxlxlx

Two hours later the group was standing in the underground training 'cave' with Urahara and Yoruichi (in her human form this time).

"Before you ask, we don't know. We're exiles, remember!?" He said with fake cheer. Ichigo fought the urge to elbow the shop keeper in the face. Instead the teen opted for the possible information route.

"Well, I know you have some suspicions about what's going on."

"Nothing that would be any help as you face the higher-ups I assure you."

Yoruichi chimed in. "Just be sure to watch your backs. I hear some Shinigami with big heads resent that humans helped fight in the war."

At this everyone scoffed and even Orihime giggled, brushing it off. It was nothing they couldn't handle.

"Right then!! Shall we? (insert heart here)" Urahara gushed waving his fan. He walked toward the gate with Tessai. "You know, I should really introduce traveling fees!"

The gate was activated and the humans rushed forward, well aware of the time restraint. A brief flash of light then empty space signified the humans were all through and safe on the other side. The shop owner backed away to stand beside Yoruichi, a serious expression on his face.

"Not even rumors, Kisuke," said Yoruichi, a tinge of fire in her voice.

"Relax, they can take care of themselves."

"That's what I'm afraid of… and I think Soul Society is too."

* * *

1 - I'm not sure if this is the right term, but it's a bamboo practice sword  
2 - These are claws that attach to the hands, not unlike Wolverine from X-Men, just detachable  
Don't worry, their powers will get their own flashback soon!

Thank you everybody for reading and for the reviewers especially, you motivate me to keep on writing!!! I had trouble with this chapter, but like it better now that I've typed it up and made some adjustments.

Sorry if this seems like a filler, but I am just trying to convey the mood. You have to remember that Soul Society is kind of fragile right now and was infiltrated from the inside, so wouldn't you be wary? Oh well, I better not say anything else!!!

Thanks again for hangin' in here with me! I appreciate it immensely!!!!!!!!!!

sigh... Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach... hehehe, but I wonder if mangakas go on fanfiction sites to try out new ideas... wouldn't that be _wild?!?!?!_ and what about the disclaimer then?? Hahaha!

Anyway, until next time!


	6. Chapter 6

Calm After the Storm  
Chapter 6

Surprisingly enough, when the visitors entered through the Senkaimon, they came out of the official one in Seireitei instead of near the west gate as before.

"Yo!" said a voice in the distance. They all turned to look at the approaching figures… one was very shiny.

"Oi! Ikkaku, Yumichika!" yelled Ichigo enthusiastically.

"We got stuck babysittin' you punks," Ikkaku answered glumly as the two Shinigami finally got close to the group.

"Oh, Orihime-chan, you look as beautiful as ever!" gushed Yumichika. He leaned in to embrace her, but a small stone knocked him in the head.

"Idiot! This ain't the time for that!" Yumichika rubbed his head with tears in his eyes mumbling something about cheap shots. Whether Ikkaku heard and ignored it or was selectively deaf no one will know.

"Man, I hate this. A'right Ichigo, the meetin' is at noon. The bosses wanted to get you guys settled first, so we have to show you 'round the place." They moved off down the path.

"It's not like we didn't spend months here killing hollows last year," interjected Ishida not moving along with the rest of the group.

"What you talkin' 'bout? Ikkaku asked with a frown. "'Less you know of a bar that I don't (I doubt it) you should start walkin.'" He turned around again, Ishida jogging after them.

_'I must be out of my mind…'_

xlxlxlx

"You didn't even let us have sips!" cried Keigo silently, whose shoulder was being patted by Mizuiro.

"Idiot, were underage and we have a huge meeting to go to in a few hours!" scolded Tatsuki evenly. The group had to make due with watching the fellow Shinigami in the bar get _completely_ hammered and Keigo try to sneak drinks away from the 11th members. His hands were smacked away every time. Ah, the joy of slow torture.

Ikkaku currently leaned on Yumichika for support as he stumbled down the streets of Seireitei. His friend wasn't nearly as wasted; he possessed enough brains to control himself (although whether from a sense or duty or his assurance that a drunk Yumichika is not a beautiful Yumichika is up for debate).

Said Shinigami looked back at the group of odd friends talking with each other. He smiled as he announced he would take his inebriated friend to the 11th division quarters to sleep it off.

"You guys can go explore, you know your way around. I'll find you again." He didn't have to mention he would do that by following the obvious reiatsu of the substitute Shinigami. Ichigo stopped him before he ran off.

"How's Kenpachi doing?" he asked quietly. The group quieted and Yumichika turned again.

"…Hangin' in there." Answered Ikkaku quietly. "He's rougher 'round the edges –"

"If that's even possible," interrupted Yumichika with a (beautiful) snort.

" – but still going." Ichigo nodded slightly. He looked the two Shinigami in the eyes.

"I'll be around later," and it was enough to see Ichigo understood. He left to drop Ikkaku at the division.

"_Yachiru-chan!" shouted Orihime. They saw the small girl stand above the fallen Kenpachi, her usual grin faded. They were surrounded by hollows and the battle had already lasted too long. A surprise visit from an Espada felled the monster of a taicho, but he still breathed, albeit raggedly, while Yachiru defended him with everything she had left._

_The humans came as reinforcements to the battlefield, but not in time as they saw a hollow's tail swing in from behind the girl and stab her small frame through. She cried out softly, lifted roughly into the air before she was flung back to the ground, right beside her taicho. Ichigo and the others finally made it and they beat away the hollows furiously. Orihime sprinted to the still figures on the desert sand, calling on her power desperately, pouring everything she had into the healing._

_Yachiru slowly pulled herself up, crawling under the high dome, to climb onto her taicho's chest, already being pieced together, and lay on her stomach._

"_Did I win, Ken-chan?" she asked tiredly, resting her chin on her folded arms, eyes closed._

"_Yah," he responded in a voice so gentle Orihime almost looked around her to see who had spoken. His still intact arm rose to embrace his daughter. _

"_Arigatou, tou-chan," whispered the girl with a last sigh as she turned her head sideways, as if merely taking a nap._

"_Yachiru-chan!!!"_

Orihime shivered at the memory, then looked sideways at Tatsuki as she lent a supportive arm around her shoulders. Orihime swiped at her eyes.

The group set off silently, not really noticing where they were heading. After a while of walking aimlessly Orihime's tears stopped and Tatsuki loosened her hold, although not quite letting go. The red head looked around and stopped and tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"Where are we?" The others froze and looked around as well. They had found themselves at the entrance of a serene garden. A small stream surrounded by smooth rocks and small bushes cut through the center of the tastefully designed corner of Seireitei. Sakura trees and others adorned the yard as well as plots of flowers. Several benches spread out along the stream and under the well-kept trees.

Somehow this garden felt like their meeting place on the school grounds. Sure it wasn't as elegant as this, but the friends needed it's circle at the moment, and any familiarity was good enough for now.

They moved forward to take their place under the sakura trees, settling into the familiar formation as easily as breathing.

No words were spoken, each choosing a quieter strength as they were lost in their individual memories. They never stopped the flow of support they each sent out and that was the most important thing.

xlxlxlx

Kuchiki Byakuya walked along the corridors of his estate calmly, heading to finish his work scheduled for this morning before the meeting took place. He felt suddenly the now irritatingly familiar reiatsu enter the grounds of his estate.

Withholding an aggravated sigh (_'Really, when will the boy learn some control?'_) and changed his course to kick the boy out of his garden.

The stoic taicho arrived around the corner soon enough to see it wasn't just Kurosaki Ichigo that had taken up residence in his garden. All his living friends were present as well. Something in the back of his head, maybe Senbonzakura, stopped him from forcing the them to leave and instead pulled tighter on the reigns of control over his reiatsu so not as to interrupt.

He watched silently as the group stepped into the garden after pausing at the open gate. He could feel an emotion prevailing over all the others in their thinly veiled reiatsu: relief. For what Byakuya didn't know, nor did he care, yet he still hung back as he watched. He briefly wondered if they had somehow escaped Zaraki-taicho in a fight, but none were winded.

He continued to watch as they walked over the small bridge connecting the halved land and make their way to the shade under the trees. The ignored the benches. He noted with some surprise that some figures stopped in the middle of the ground while others walked by. Soon the taicho could see that they had created a loose circle, obviously a familiar routine. Even more surprising was the a small gap in the formation, empty because the red-haired girl (_'Inoue Orihime' _his mind supplied helpfully) had settled into the center of the circle, surrounded by her friends… _'No, that is too weak a word… nakama…'_

Byakuya could feel the waves of support and strength and companionship from each reiatsu. He felt he was witnessing a long-familiar ritual between this gathering. He was slightly amazed that the bond between them was so strong at such a young age. Only to be expected, they had been through Hell together.

The girl's head lifted a little from her drooping position, her back straightened. A few more minutes almost convinced the noble to intervene when he heard the Kurosaki boy speak, peaking the noble's curiosity.

"You did the best you could, and that's all that anyone asks of you Inoue."

"H-hai, Ichigo-kun, but–"

"But if we had been a little faster," said the boy with brown hair.

"Or a little more powerful," said the tallest of the group.

"Or a little less scared to death," said the other female shortly. They faded into silence again. Until Inoue giggled softly, and the tension faded away.

"Well, isn't this a familiar speech," said Mizuiro lightly. Others nodded and after another pulse of support trickled away, Inoue crawled smoothly to her space in the circle.

Ichigo sighed (Byakuya noted it was a very world weary sigh) and ran a hand through his already messy hair.

"I guess I'll need you after the meeting Inoue. The fight with Kenpachi isn't going to be rainbows and stardust. Ugh…" Chuckles followed.

"You really think it's the only way to help him forget, if only for a little while?" asked Ishida, who knew the 11th taicho enough to know what Ichigo was implying.

"Knowing him, yeah." Byakuya's eyes widened imperceptibly. The boy had actually offered himself up for a fight against Zaraki?! His thoughts halted when he heard the next voice.

"Ken-chan will be so happy," said a softly smiling Inoue.

Ah… He had heard the story of when, despite Inoue's attempts at healing the pink-haired fukutaicho, it had been too late to save her. He had been informed of the necessities about the child's death, but later Rukia had told him of the only half-healed taicho rising early from Inoue's ministrations and not relinquishing his daughter until he had staggered into the 4th division.

The 6th division taicho decided it was a good time to appear when he heard the brunette question the air.

"Where _are_ we??"

"My garden," said the noble smoothly. They all scrambled to their feet at the sound of his voice.

"Go- gomen, Kuchiki-taicho," stammered Inoue while Ichigo just crossed his arms and stared pointedly at the stoic man. He seemed to be saying _'Yes I knew you were there and I let you listen. What are you going to do?'_ He also seemed to be threatening him, daring him to make the wrong move. If he did, it would probably mean a trip to the 4th division.

Whatever Ichigo saw in Byakuya's eyes (which was very, very, _very_, subtle) calmed him a little and he lowered his arms to his sides.

"Come on guys, we're disturbing the noble Kuchiki Byakuya's grass. See you at the meeting, Byakuya!" As soon as they were gone, the noble sighed.

'_Truly, that boy is infuriating.'_

xlxlxlx

Yumichika found them a little ways away, wandering along the narrow paths. He told them Ikkaku was currently 'snoring loudly enough to put Jidanbou to shame.' With only an hour left until the meeting began, the group made their way leisurely to the Central 46 chamber.

Their escort took it upon himself to update on all the news (coughgossipcough) from all sorts of sources. Hitsugaya and Hinamori had been caught being… affectionate in the 10th division office. The officer that had barged in had to be thawed before they got anything juicy out of him. The SWA had released a new calendar to raise funds… guess who Miss January was… Keigo immediately asked Yumichika if he could smuggle one for him, and all of them were surprised when the 5th seat laughed and said he wouldn't be a true beauty if he couldn't appreciate it himself. He would give one of his copies to Keigo for free.

Their carefree banter continued until they reached their destination, and suddenly the smiles were gone again. Two guards stood in front of the door that flaunted the Central 46 insignia.

"I can't pass; this meeting is for you guys. Good luck." He turned abruptly and was gone. The group turned as they heard the guards chant a spell to open the door. The guard on the left passed through the doorway first, beckoning without words for the visitors to follow. The hallway was long with many door leading who knows where lined along the walls. Five minutes passed before they reached the end of the corridor, which was simply another door and two more guards. They chanted yet another spell and all three let the humans pass into the spacious room that was the meeting place for the Central 46 members and the Gotei 13.

As soon as they were all through, the doors slammed shut behind them and the group formed a single line, allowing their 'superiors' to get a good look at them while they themselves surveyed the setup. There were five tiers in a semicircle overlooking the door they had just entered through. The top most was the shortest and had only six occupied seats. The two below had ten seats and the last raised tier held twenty. On the floor sat the Gotei 13 taichos and their fukutaichos (standing directly behind and to the left). Three seats were empty, although the fukutaichos were present.

One of the men sitting on the tier behind the Gotei 13 stood, looking no older than his mid-40s. He addressed the humans with well suppressed scorn.

"My name is Aizawa Kazuki and I have been voted as Overseer to this meeting. Will you please state your names." The group did so, in no particular order. The man, Aizawa, sat back down and Yamamoto-soutaicho stood in his typical position. He spoke in scratch tones that had always sounded like a grumpy grandfather to Ichigo… _very_ grumpy.

"You have been called here in total isolation of what would be spoken of today. No one but I and the Central 46 Councilmen know what this meeting is about." At this Ichigo flicked a gaze to Byakuya and Renji, but their faces were carefully sculpted stone.

"In light of recent discoveries you have been summoned to stand here to answer our questions in all honesty about your power." The humans blinked… what was going on?

"Ishida Uryuu, Kojima Mizuiro, Asano Keigo, and Arizawa Tatsuki: Is it correct that you have enough power to defeat Privaron and low ranked Espada?" The four nodded their agreement. The soutaicho shifted his gaze.

"Sado Yasutora: Is it correct that your powers awakened fully in the heart of Hueco Mundo and that they are more closely related to a hollow's abilities than any other?" Chad merely nodded, frowning.

"Inoue Orihime: Is it correct that because of strong bonds between these people you are able to use your power to bring them back to life, and have indeed done so?" The girl flinched visibly (no one should_ know that!!_) at the words spoken harshly and the murmurs that arose but nodded. Tatsuki hissed in annoyance. Noise died down once the soutaicho continued.

"Kurosaki Ichigo: Is it correct that you have committed the crime of obtaining the powers of a hollow and become a Vaizard, and knowingly communicate with others?" At this news the taichos whispered to each other. The group looked at each other then at Ichigo, waiting to see how he would respond. His face revealed nothing, not even the familiar frown marred his features. Silence fell again as they all waited for the boy to acknowledge the man's question. Finally, he nodded.

Aizawa stood up again behind the aged Shinigami leaning his hands against the desk in front of him.

"It has been decided that in the chance that these statements are true by the humans' own acknowledgement that these humans are to have their power sealed down to a maximum of ten percent, only to be heightened to twenty percent in the case of emergencies. Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo is exempt from this; he will remain at the ten percent seal at all times and is to be exiled from Soul Society for the remainder of his existence." Humans and Shinigami alike broke the silence to shout their surprise at the slightly smirking Overseer.

Kenpachi jumped out of his chair with a roar of disapproval, probably at losing his favorite playmate. Byakuya's hair swished gently from the taicho turning his head sharply to stare at the soutaicho. Ukitake and Shunsui verbally announced their disagreement. Hitsugaya's frown deepened. Kurotsuchi couldn't wait to get started on the seals. Others remained stoic.

The visitors were just as appalled and enraged.

"You can't _do _this!"

"We haven't done anything!"

"What the hell are you thinking?!"

"This isn't a meeting, this is a trial!!"

Yamamoto thumped his staff on the floor, silencing everyone. Before he could speak Ichigo walked forward, and for the first time it was noticed that he hadn't made a sound or acted out. As he stepped away from the group all eyes were drawn to him (even the new Councilmen had heard of his infamous rashness and short temper). His body was relaxed; no tension at all at hearing his power was to be forced down. …Was his hair… lighter? He tilted his head to the side, spoke a single word.

"Why?"

I was soft, gentle, almost carefree, and it disturbed his friends greatly.

"_Kurosaki?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_You okay?"_

"_Of course, I'm just agreeing…"_

"…_?!"_

"_Agreeing with _who_ Ichigo-kun?"_

_He smiled lazily._

"We need to leave," Chad said suddenly.

"Nonsense, Sado, it's fine," Ichigo declared. He looked over heads to give the giant a grin. "They invited us, it would be rude to leave without their permission!" He turned back to the shocked assembly to look at Yamamoto.

"Why?"

"In order to keep your reiatsu from leaking and affecting the humans closest to—"

"No," said Ichigo coolly. "Try again." Yamamoto opened his eyes to look at the smiling boy. His instincts told him if they made one false moved all of Seireitei would be destroyed, and the boy wouldn't care.

Aizawa stood again, clearly outraged, flying out of his seat, yelling.

"How _dare_ you interrupt Yamamoto-soutaicho thus!!"

"Sir," whispered Mizuiro. "Don't talk." The man sputtered.

"I _will_ speak, human! The Vaizard is out of line! I can have you all exe—!" The killing intent in the sudden reiatsu stifled his words, forcing him to clutch at the table desperately to keep from passing out.

Zaraki grimaced.

As soon as it had appeared it was gone, the humans seemingly unaffected, Ichigo was still grinning.

"How about this, eh? We leave for today, Kurotsuchi doesn't make the seals, and we come back tomorrow for an answer to my question. Same time of course. Enjoy your day gentlemen, taichos." He waved and was almost out the door before he turned around.

"Oi, Kenpachi! I made a play date with Yumichika earlier, you comin'?" The taicho shot out of his chair.

"Hell yeah!!" The two disappeared and everybody breathed.

* * *

Whew!!! I had no idea that was coming! I have an awesome plan now!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! 

clears throat Anyway, a few things I want to mention...  
1-- I am using my authoress priveleges and I made my own Central 46 building because I don't like the original.  
2-- I LOVE YACHIRU!!!!!! I didn't want her to die I swear! My heart was breaking while I wrote it, believe me! I figured if I felt that strongly, then so would others, so... yeah... sorry... no killing please!  
3-- I love the idea of Byakuya running into things he never expects... lets upset that little noble face of his, shall we??  
4-- If you think you know what is going on with Ichigo, DO NOT SAY ANYTHING!!!!! One of the things I hate most is spoilers... if you are desperate to let me know, then message me, k? Thanks!!!!

Thanks to all reviewers, and trust me, more are appreciated!!! And let me know if you have any questions or think I did something bad!!!

Disclaimer: Me no own Bleach... unfortunately I own the dude named Aizawa, but I don't wanna keep him, he's up for grabs! GARAGE SALE!!!!!!!


	7. Chapter 7

Calm After the Storm  
Chapter 7

"_Zangetsu!" Ichigo called out loudly. The spirit was in his usual perch in the inner world. "Did you catch all that?"_

"_**Yes, Ichigo. Do you have some kind of plan?"**__ At this the teen smirked confidently.He sat squarely in front of this counterpart of his soul and he crossed his arms and legs, stubborn to the last._

"_Of course I do. We will definitely stop them. But first I need to talk to it." Zangetsu raised an eyebrow but complied, already understanding what the boy planned. He manifested the hollow beside him._

"King! So nice of you to visit! Should I get out the nice china for a cup of tea?"_ Isn't sarcasm wonderful?_

"_You heard all that right?"_

"Maybe, what if I did?" _Ichigo growled quietly, annoyed at the mocking tone in the hollow's voice. He reigned in his temper and tried again._

"_**It's your power too,"**__ Zangetsu mentioned in his rumbling voice. _

"_They want to make us weak." For once the hollow didn't retaliate, only narrowed its eyes._

"We've had this discussion before, King. The traitor provoked us the last time. We gonna do this again?"

"_Hey, I know you don't wanna be sealed any more than I do. Besides, I think we might get bored being stuck in the living realm for the rest of eternity killing hollows."_

"Very boring indeed,"_ it approached the now standing Ichigo. _"So I guess we're in agreement then."_ A dangerous smile lit its face. It held out a hand, an offering. _

"_Why don't we show them what it means to be a Vaizard, huh?" He took its hand in a strong grip. _

The chamber was in an uproar. Members of the Central 46 and the Gotei 13 shouted at the humans remaining in the room. They stood proudly, although somewhat angry Ichigo had left them there to deal with the idiots. They said nothing.

Yamamoto-soutaichou again rapped the ground with his staff, and continued to do so until every voice had been silenced. He looked at the humans.

"What has happened to Kurosaki Ichigo," he demanded to know. The humans remained silently, not in the least intimidated. They were too angry with the souls in front of them to care about whether the man could fry them up extra crispy.

Keigo finally lost it and stomped forward, his face furious, yelling. "You should be asking what the hell you did wrong! You should want to know just how badly you've screwed up! You don't deserve to know!! You'd probably just disregard the truth and think what you want to think and not listen for half a second because you don't want to acknowledge that Soul Society is seriously _fucked up!!_"

"Keigo," Chad said warningly. The enraged teen shot Chad a glare over his shoulder. "Back off, this isn't helping. Maybe we should tell them."

"Whatever!" shouted Keigo. "Why should we worry about _them?_" He pointed sharply at the souls.

"I don't care about them. I'm worried about others that may be caught up in this: the ones that only take orders not make them." Surprise spread about the room at the giant's words. Chad looked at the people who had foolishly provoked Ichigo with pity, even if they had tried to condemn them. "The only reason you are alive at the moment is because Ichigo hasn't killed you yet."

Tatsuki spoke up. "Keigo's right though. … I say let Ichigo tell them himself if he wants to when they ask tomorrow. Meanwhile tell everyone not to approach Ichigo unless they are a 5th seat or above." The council began talking amongst themselves at the audacity of the humans. Yamamoto considered the seriousness of the humans and remember the power he had felt, the perfect control he had witnessed. He hadn't even noticed when the boy's reiatsu capacity rose, despite the huge difference it made when the boy's' condition had changed.

Ishida nodded at the silence of the soutaichou, deeming him to be in agreement.

"Fine. In that case, ladies and gentlemen, we will be going to make sure the Vaizard," at this term he sneered, "doesn't accidentally kill one of you strongest taichous." They walked out the chamber without looking back. They were silent until they were finally past the last door, walking the normal paths.

"Where are they?" asked Mizuiro.

"Hang on…" Ishida concentrated. Not that it was too hard to find them. "They're fighting near the execution grounds. I don't think they have been going for very long." They ran for the stairs that would lead them to the top.

xlxlxlx

They raced over rooftops, crushing tiles under their sandaled feet from the power of their shunpo. Kenpachi found it somewhat difficult to match the teen's pace but he wasn't concerned, he still had his eye patch on.

They had decided the high plain that Soukyouku had once stood upon would be the site for their battle, due to the size of the empty area and really the convenience it presented because it was the nearest place that didn't have any building that threatened to crush them if things got out of hand.

Not that it mattered much.

Even if they had agreed on going there beforehand and words would only shorten their breath, Kenpachi wanted answers.

"Hey!"

"Yeah?"

"What's up with ya? When'd ya get so much power?"

"Eh, you don't need to know 'til tomorrow. You can ask me then. All I wanna think about right now is how long it'll take me to pound you into the ground." He looked back to show a lazy grin.

"Ha!! I can't wait to see you try!"

They jumped the stairs at the base of the cliff vertically and used shunpo again to rush through the forest of dead trees. They stopped as they reached the center of the open plain, spread twenty feet apart Ichigo's hand on Zangetsu's hilt. Kenpachi stood relaxed.

"Take off the eye patch please!" Ichigo said cheerily.

"I wanna fight ya with it on first, see how strong ya got."

"Take it off or I'll kill you!"

"Threats don't work on me! Ya just gotta fight me!"

"I wasn't threatening you. My reiatsu will kill you if I let loose while your eye patch is on." Ichigo grin grew more into a smirk… though for some reason there was a little sad twist.

"Oh? You know that, huh?" The curious sadness was gone, and Ichigo shrugged.

"You're talking to the dude that killed Aizen, remember? I killed him in the same… condition… that I am now. So yeah, I know."

Kenpachi chuckled and in one swift movement tore the eye patch away. His reiatsu soared as if happy to be let free and the man laughed gleefully. All of Seireitei felt the power, knew it was his, and resolved not to go anywhere near the former execution site.

"Finally!! I can go all out!!" He unsheathed his zanpakutou as he felt Ichigo raise his reiatsu to match. They considered each other silently until Ichigo let out an unrestrained bark of laughter and lunged at his opponent, who lifted his zanpakutou to meet Ichigo's between them. The jumped apart to meet again, both wearing wide smiles.

Kenpachi took advantage of the close proximity to grab the front of Ichigo's shihakushou and toss him into the air. The teen quickly found purchase beneath his feet to stop his ascent and upside down he swung Zangetsu in a wide arc.

"Getsuga Tenshou!!" Kenpachi recalled reports he had read as he darted to avoid the crescent of power barreling toward him. He wasn't ashamed to admit he had studied up on the teen (for future reference) after his first fight and the betrayal. Even after the research, he was surprised and pleased. He wasn't expecting such an intense concentration of reiatsu. He recalled see the attack during the War as well, but something was wrong.

The light was supposed to be light blue. So why was it purple now? Granted; it wasn't a perfect mix, the color was more blue than a pure purple color, but now matter how you looked at it, it wasn't right.

Zaraki was just happy he could fight the teen again… he didn't care.

The explosion sent dirt and rock into the air. Ichigo flipped and landed on the ground next to the edge of the new chasm and looked down cautiously to the bottom. The ground below them was easily visible. He heard Kenpachi whistle slowly and Ichigo looked up.

"Another one of those and there won't be a cliff anymore."

"You know where to find me if you need a demolitions expert."

"Ichigo!!" The two Shinigami turned to look at the six people on the outskirts of the forest. Ichigo beamed and waved in greeting.

"Hey guys! I'm gonna finish up here, then we can go hang out!" He shouted to them.

"'Finish up'?!" scoffed Kenpachi. He jumped the distance of the new gash in the ground and Ichigo was busy again. He lifted Zangetsu over his head to block the swing and pushed Kenpachi away easily. He chased after the man and before he could gain good footing Ichigo scored a hit on Kenpachi's arm. Kenpachi ignored the wound and darted forward before Ichigo could back away again. If Ichigo hadn't dodged he would have lost his left ear, but instead a shallow cut was inflicted on his shoulder and chest, perfectly vertical.

xlxlxlx

"Renji, what's going on?" Asked Rukia, alarmed as her childhood friend sprinted to her. He gasped, unable to form a word until he had caught his breath. "How did the meeting go?"

"… Ichigo's… freaking out! Something hap…pened to him."

"What do you mean freaking out? He doesn't freak, he just scowls and yells."

"I'm telling you, something's… wrong! The meeting was a set up t… to begin with. It was a trial. They all condemned them to a seal… Ichigo has been exiled... for being a Vaizard…"

"What??"

"… and now Ichigo isn't yellin' or scowlin'. He doesn't even… look angry Rukia! He looks like he found out he won the lottery or something! Everyone else looked… scared too— hey, you okay?"

Rukia had become paler with every word. She stared at Renji hard, desperately.

"Did his hair seem to be lighter? Can you remember??" The red-head frowned, thinking back to the silent Ichigo at the chamber.

"Now that you ment— woah! Wait up!! Where are you going??" He sped to follow the woman who had dashed past him.

"I have to speak to Nii-sama!!" Renji chased Rukia through the familiar winding paths to the 6th division offices. For once, she abandoned protocol and slammed open the door to her brother's private office, revealing her brother and a surprised Juushiro Ukitakewho had obviously been in the middle in a conversation. They both looked to the noise of the door.

Rukia stood with Renji just behind, her hands on either side of the doorway, head bowed tiredly. Byakuya frowned (visibly).

"What is the meaning of this," He set down his tea and waited impatiently for her excuse.

"Nii-sama…" panting from exhaustion (it was a long way from 13th to 6th); she could not speak.

"Rukia-chan, what's wrong?" asked Rukia's taichou with concern.

She suddenly looked up.

"I know what happened to Ichigo and you have to let me explain!"

xlxlxlx

Kenpachi blocked a swing at his waist and stepped back to disengage and make a backhand slash at Ichigo's chest. Every move they made, even when dodged, made small cuts, adding on as time went by.

The others stood back at the edge of the tree line watching the two Shinigami. Ichigo had told them to stay there and none of them were suicidal enoughto get any closer to the battle, even if Ichigo shielded them from his own reiatsu.

Ichigo jumped back and was pushed further as Kenpachi engages their blades closely. He pushed with reiatsu as well as physically. Ichigo dug his feet in to stop the backwards movement and his feet dug into the earth unintentionally, caving under the weight of the battle.

"What, is that all you got?" Ichigo's grin grew and opened up a little wider. Kenpachi was astonished to say the least. The boy matched his level and could still go higher?!

"Sorry to disappoint, but this is only a fifth of my potential." Kenpachi pretended to ignore him. Instead of trying to fight the pressure of Ichigo's new levels he used it against the teen, forcing him to dig even deeper into the hard ground. Ichigo smirked now and suddenly bottled up all the excess reiatsu. Kenpachi reeled from the release and Ichigo took the opening. He scored a horizontal slash across his chest.

They paused and the amused taichou looked at Ichigo and chuckled. His zanpakutou resting at his side.

"Why didja wanna fight me?"

"I knew I'd need to relieve some stress after the 'meeting,' just as much as you need it."

"… Eh?"

"I figure you haven't had a decent fight in a few months right? You've to be crawling in your skin because you haven't been able to go full out; I know I would be too."

"Yep. Since the war went and got done. Been damn boring since then, driving me insane."

"You aren't already?"

"Well… can't argue with that."

Ichigo rested Zangestu on his shoulder and risked it.

"Have you gotten a new fukutaichou?"

Kenpachi narrowed his eyes at Ichigo and tightened his grip on his weapon, but didn't attack. Instead he said, "The only one I trust to do the paperwork besides me is refusing the position. The bald asshole said it'd make him grow hair, being stressed out all the time, or some shit like that."

"No one else, huh? Too bad!! You're stuck with all the paperwork then?"

"Hell no!! I make baldy do it anyway! We have a bet going to see what his natural color is." Ichigo laughed at his friend's expense and began the fight once again, running at Kenpachi unhurriedly. He needed the man busy to ask his next question.

He kicked his foot out, trying to unbalance Kenpachi and asked, "How's the division without… her?" Kenpachi half growled, half grunted at the kick to his chest (although the impact was lessened by his jump back) and the maniacal grin adorning his scarred face lost a bit of it's luster... if you could call it that.

Kenpachi used a few shunpo to advance forward and grab a handful of Ichigo's hair. He switched hands on his zanpakutou andpurposefully caught iton the curve of Zangetsu after the hilt and pushed Ichigo's arm back into an awkward angle, effectively rendering it useless in such close range.

"They're fine." He raised a knee to nail Ichigo in the gut. "Bastards 've prob'ly gotten used ta the quiet by now." Solely running on instinct Ichigo used his freehand to grip Kenpachi's shoulder for leverageand he jumped high to avoid the reiatsu-laden attack, flipping over his opponent's head (sacrificing some hair on the way down). Kenpachi was forced to let go unless he wanted a dislocated shoulder. While Kenpachi reclaimed his arm Ichigo landed softly behind the taichou.

"What about you?"

Kenpachi launched into shunpos to avoid the elbow to the back of his neck. He circled the teen tightly and faced him squarely.

"Too damn quiet," he almost whispered, and he gifted Ichigo with an identical cut across his chest. The teen staggered back.

xlxlxlx

The four figures sitting in the 6th division taichou's office were gravely silent. After hearing what Rukia had told them… she had learned the information about this aspect of Ichigo's power from Inoue, who would surely never lie to her Shinigami friend. The truth disturbed them greatly.

Rukia suddenly spoke, her whole frame tense. "Ichigo never asked for this… he wasn't even aware he had a hollow until he fought you, Nii-sama. He only tries to do the right thing with the power he's been given." She clutched the folds of her shihakushou. "Exiling himis the same as exiling any other Shinigami for possessing power! The Central 46 is _wrong!_ Hasn't he saved their stupid lives enough times to have earned at least a little peace?!" Sheran out of words and tried to remove her stiff fingers from her wrinkled uniform. Byakuya decided to ignore the snub against the council… she was obviously not herself…

Ukitake spoke then. "We can't go against the decisions of the Central 46 council. It has been this way for thousands of years." He lips thinned bitterly, quite unlike the man to be so bitter. "These new fools wouldn't change for the sake of one man."

Tense silence filled the room again, each lost in their own tumultuous thoughts.

Renji let out a sudden chuckle, sounding like a child discovering the cookie jar was unguarded. He almost laughed outright at the faces of the others staring at him… It was so obvious!

"Knowing Ichigo, we don't have to do a single thing for this to blow over." It wasn't possible for the others to be more shocked at Renji's words. He grinned slyly at the others, "He'll just beat everyone up until they either change their minds or they're dead." He looked pointedly at Byakuya.

… Jeez.

xlxlxlx

Neither Shinigami advanced on the other, each breathing heavily at the exertion and blood loss.

"We can't fight much longer unless we want to kill ourselves instead of each other," said Ichigo, sounding quite a bit like he didn't care either way. Then he sighed melodramatically and laid Zangetsu across his back, the wrapping automatically sheathing the blade.

"And it was just gettin' good, too," complained Kenpachi.

"Shut it, Bells, I still have a long three days ahead of me and I need to be conscious for all of them." Ichigo sighed again and pulled in his power. Kenpachi sheathed his zanpakutou as well, and place his eye patch on regretfully. He appraised the teen who had his back to him (he was watching his friends run over to them).

"Ya know, I could blame you for her death."

Ichigo paused stiffly thenturned his whole body to him, tilting his head slightly. All amusement from the fight was gone and in its place emptiness so complete Kenpachi was tempted to step back.

'_Holy shit…'_

"I already blame myself for a whole lot more than you'll ever know, Bells… what's one more pebble on a mountain?

"And besides, you blame yourself for Yachiru's death enough for the both of us." He turned away again, with a smile on his face, to meet the ones that understood him the best... his friends, his nakama.

* * *

I would like to say SORRY!! for all those who have been waiting for this chapter... please don't kill me?... Here! Have a cookie!

The fight was crazy hard to write... I tried to be detailed, and I'm always insecure about fights. I realize some moves areprobably not possible but a) it's _my_ fic and b) it's Soul Society for crying out loud, what _isn't_ possible when you're that powerful? The standing in mid-air thing is possible though (Ichigo does it by instinct when he is smashed through Orihime's wall when her brother attacks and Shinji hangs upside down when we first see him). I don't know about the flippy thing Ichigo does to get away from Ken-chan though... it looked cool in my head. (sigh) Let me know what you think??

Hahahaha, I still haven't told you what happened to Ichigo!! I almost did, but I didn't want to give it away too soon!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach... (sniffle) I want Ichigo though... it's no fair that the girls won't share him...

PS! The first part was indeed a flashback on the time Ichigo changed in the meeting, what happened to make him change is a surprise, although this is another clue... forgive me if you think I am dragging it out too long...

Have wonderful lives and see ya next time!!


	8. Chapter 8

Calm After the Storm  
Chapter 8

The rest of the day Soul Society's guests wandered around Seireitei visiting different divisions. It went without saying the group avoided the taichous' offices, but instead visited the barracks to find Shinigami they hadn't seen since the war ended. They chatted, bickered, and hugged (in Inoue's case anyway), and forgot for the moment the news Central 46 had imparted.

As soon as the fight with Kenpachi had ended and Inoue had healed them both, Kenpachi had gone back to his division for some 'downtime,' meaning beating up anyone that happened to get in his way.

Tatsuki told Ichigo of the ending of the meeting and the agreement with Yamamoto to stay away from the weaker Shinigami, but Ichigo immediately brushed it away, and pushed down his reiatsu until it was no more powerful than the average Shinigami. He grumbled at the sensation.

"It's like my skin is too tight!" They laughed at him and Keigo exacted his revenge (tackled him) for leaving them to deal with the angry and fearful gathering. After that had been dealt with, they made their way to the staircase and decided then to surprise their Shinigami companions with a few hellos.

In the middle of the walking and greeting they came across a group of buildings they had never really paid much attention to. They figured it wouldn't hurt to check the place out and they entered through the open gateway and walked in and it was immediately obvious that this was the Shinigami Academy.

Students walked through the hallways in clusters or alone, and the living looked at each other. Rukia and Renji had told them a little about this place, and there would always be the occasional initiation of the too green graduates joining the war. It was extremely nostalgic to be there and were reminded of their school back in Karakura.

The sudden lack of any noise caught the reminiscing humans' attention and they turned back to face the hallway, which had stilled completely to stared at the newcomers. No one moved.

"Yo!" burst Keigo enthusiastically. "You don't know us b— hey!" They suddenly were surrounded by a sea of excited faces, the hallway clogged with the tight press of bodies.

Instantly the humans drew together instinctively and tried to get out, but students wouldn't let them, and they all bombarded them with questions.

"Are you _the _Kurosaki Ichigo?!" "Aah! Inoue-san is more beautiful than I heard!" "What are you doing here?!" "Can I have your autographs?!" "Can we see your zanpakutou?!" "Tell us about the War!!"

'This is ridiculous!' thought Ichigo irritably. The accosted humans' shouts were ignored as they tried to push away the growing crowd. Abruptly he saw Inoue stumble from a particularly rough shove from the crowd, shrinking back against a stoic Chad.

'Enough.'

The already fraying control on his temper snapped and he let go of the additional damper on his reiatsu and it flooded the hallway dangerously, it's edge razor sharp with anger and frustration.

"Get back idiots!" yelled a voice, Ishida's, and Ichigo felt strong hands on his shoulders from behind, drawing him back from the red haze in his mind, restraining him from barreling toward the students. Mizuiro and Keigo grabbed his arms (one hand was already around Zangetsu's hilt). Tatsuki talked to Inoue softly with her arm around her shoulders. Ishida shouted at the students to get out of the way.

Ichigo gasped harshly, trying to gain some control over himself.

"Rein it in, Ichigo," said Chad, and Ichigo took a deep breath and forced his reiatsu within the boundaries he had set for himself after the fight. It really hadn't been any more than what leaked out in the living world, but its killing intent was enough to have shaken the students into retreating.

"Is Inoue alright?"

"I'm perfectly fine Ichigo-kun!" she said cheerfully. "No harm done! I'm stronger than I look you know!" Hearing this Ichigo calmed down even more and Chad, Keigo, and Mizuiro let go of him. The Shinigami rubbed a hand over his face and looked apologetic to the few students left.

A boy and a girl stood in front of Ishida, talking to him. Some of the conversation reached Ichigo and an eyebrow lifted.

"Please can you come to our zanjutsu class? It will be so much fun!" said the girl; she was almost bouncing in her excitement. The boy on her left looked somewhat exasperated with his friend's antics.

"You don't really have to," he said, raising a hand to push down on top of the girl's head in an attempt to still her, and it didn't really help.

"Pleeeeease??" The poor Quincy looked over his shoulder at Ichigo and Mizuiro since they were the ones who used sword-like weapons. They looked at each other and shrugged.

"Why not?" said Mizuiro. "It's something to do."

The girl really hopped this time and the boy bowed to the humans, grabbing the collar of the girl's uniform and forced her to do the same. They straightened and began introductions.

"My name is Oonishi Maemi," bubbled the girl.

"I'm Fujii Benjiro," said the other.

"I'm—" Ichigo began but Maemi interrupted him.

"Oh, we know who you are. There isn't anyone in Soul Society who _doesn't_ know you! You are all famous… what?"

They all stared at her in shock. Famous?!

"Well," said Tatsuki with a twisted smirk on her face. "That's irony for you… everybody _but_ those idiots at the council think we're heroes." They shook their heads in disgust and Ichigo scowled darkly, but for a different reason.

"We never did anything to merit being heroes. We killed, we protected, we survived. That's all." Uncomfortable silence followed his growl, the students staring at him wide eyed for a moment. Ichigo sighed and looked up at the ceiling... damn.

"Our class is this way," said Benjiro commented lightly, trying to unwind the tension, and he turned to lead the way. It was a pretty straightforward path to the place the class was being held. A couple of turns down main hallways brought them to the opposite end of the building. It was definitely a relief that classes had already started, since no one came out to check who was walking around.

Maemi did most of the talking, describing the Academy and the classes she had to take. Ichigo didn't really pay much attention. Benjiro merely shook his head at his friend and when they came to a pair of doors he opened them to reveal the bright sunshine. The group stepped forward and observed the enclosed field.

Walls surrounded the large space on three sides and there was no entrance other than the one they had just emerged from. Lush grass covered the ground. Wooden pillars stood as tall as Chad along one wall, to their right. On the left was a long rectangle of sand instead of grass.

'Probably what they used to help train for the desert in Hueco Mundo during the war. Good idea. Stupid desert was bad enough _without_ the hollows.' He couldn't remember how many times he had nearly died because his footing was precarious (at best) in the shifting sand.

In the middle was a class paired off and practicing moves they had just learned, the sensei moving around to the individual duels occasionally correcting stances, giving advice, yelling at stupid mistakes. He caught sight of his previously missing students before he bothered paying attention to those behind them.

"Oonishi, Fujii, you're late!!" He yelled harshly, reminding the humans of their gym teacher back home. The two jumped and bowed low to their sensei before hurrying to explain. They talked in excited whispers and pointed fingers at the amused group abandoned at the doors.

The sensei's head snapped up to stare in the direction of the humans, apparently shocked. He squinted at them ("Are we a mirage?" asked Keigo laughing). They walked toward the center of the grassy field. The other students one by one stopped their repeated strokes, sensing something was going on. Sensei-kun walked forward as well and when they met, he bowed low to the teens.

Ichigo raised his hands. "Whoa, okay, don't do that, you make me feel old." Sensei-kun glanced up, looking confused, before he let it go and straightened. Ichigo continued.

"We were exploring when we ran into your students and they asked us to come and watch… or whatever, I don't really know what we are doing here." He shrugged.

Sensei-kun was a little taken aback as he looked at the individual faces. Except for clothing the people standing before him could have been mistaken for his first year students. These children were heroes? He mentally shook himself and spoke aloud to them.

"You are welcome to watch, or even join, for those who use swords." The others sighed and sat down in the grass to settle down to wait. This wasn't exactly their scene. Ichigo and Mizuiro nodded at the invitation, but sat in the grass as well. Unexpectedly a (not so) anonymous voice rang out.

"Can we see a demonstration?" All the other students were quick to agree and Ichigo and Mizuiro looked at each other and hauled themselves up again from their comfortable position on the soft grass. They made their way to a patch on the field not occupied.

"Sensei-kun, could you referee and keep the time?" asked Mizuiro.

"Yes. How is ten minutes?"

"Plenty," said a smirking Ichigo. He gripped Zangetsu. "Man, twice in one day! I'm lucky!"

"Watch it or I'll swipe that big head of yours clean off your shoulders."

"Touchy! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're a little defensive." Zangetsu unwrapped and held in front of him in all his kitchen knife glory. Students whispered excitedly as humans shook their heads at the spoken bravado. Mizuiro held his hands in front of him, as if reaching for something (Ichigo snorted, "Always the showoff."). The shorter of the two grinned innocently and a shinai materialized slowly to rest within his open hands.

It was the normal tan color of a shinai, except three thin tassels hanging from the hand guard. They were blue, yet varying in shades, one a blue almost white, a baby blue one, and one the color of a clear sky.

Whispers faded into silence, then confusion. "How can he fight with that? It's just bamboo!" "Kurosaki-sama will kill him!!" "Sensei, stop them!!" Mizuiro grinned wider as he heard the alarmed voices and Ichigo sighed.

"You always had a gift for confusing people." Mizuiro merely responded by addressing the instructor, who looked about ready to stop them.

"Sensei-kun, please signal us when we are to begin." He slid smoothly into a defensive stance, knowing Ichigo would attack first.

_Four figures jumped (or stumbled, depending on their injuries) out of the Garganta two at a time. Chad and Inoue came first, the tall teen carrying girl in his arms. He landed gracefully (despite his size's misleading hints of bumbling and slow movement) and set Inoue gently down on her feet to the dirt flooring of the underground cave._

_Next came Ichigo and Ishida leaning on each other and bickering._

_"I still can't believe you let some science nerd squish your guts. I thought you were tougher than that?"_

"_Shut up Kurosaki! At least I didn't get kicked around by some lowly number six Espada."_

"_Hey, news flash! I won that fight, which is more than I can say for some individuals I know!" As soon as they touched ground they stopped arguing and readjusted, standing on their feet more firmly._

_Urahara and his staff plus Yoruichi stood before the teens. They stood and smiled. _

"_Yo, Sandal-hat, we're home!" They approached slowly, the Shouten staff doing the same. Urahara fanned himself lazily, hiding his smile but not the amusement in his eyes._

"_I can see that Kurosaki-san. And with one more than you left with. Welcome back Inoue-san!" Inoue beamed and gave a little bow. Her male friends, even Ichigo, smiled at her response._

"_Thank you Urahara-san!! Ano… when's dinner?" The others laughed and Yoruichi spoke up. _

"_Before food, someone else wants to say 'Welcome home!'" Three heads popped into existence from behind the group. Ichigo, Chad, Ishida, and Inoue gaped at the emerging figures like fish, which apparently Yoruichi found extremely comical._

"_Tatsuki-chan!!" Inoue glomped her best friend._

"_Hey, Ichigo, Chad, Ishida." Said Mizuiro cheerily._

_Ichigo stared as if they had grown two more heads. "Keigo?! Mizuiro!! Wh- What are you guys— wait… Urahara, they can see me?!" _

"_Of course we can, you baka," huffed Keigo, a mocking hurtful look on his face. "If you affected Inoue and Chad with all your unbridled reiatsu how long do you think it would take before the same thing happens to me? We walk to school together every morning." _

"_And I ran into the bald guy my sister has a crush on, remember? Plus, remember the time the Bounto attacked? The transfusion thing had to have some side effect right?"  
_

"_I shouldn't even have to say anything," said Tatsuki over the head of a quietly crying Orihime._

_Ichigo stared. "Wait, then… you guys…"_

"_Yep!" Keigo declared proudly. Ichigo ran his hands through his hair, a scowl replacing the brief contentment he had shown earlier._

"_Well, shit…" Urahara walked forward and patted Ichigo on the shoulder._

"_Congrats, old son! You can now call yourself a fa—" an elbow to the nose silenced the blond shop keeper._

"_What the hell are you talking about!? You're crazy!!" By this time Inoue had detached herself and gone to hug Yoruichi, who looked surprised at the affectionate gesture but after the initial shock she hugged the girl back._

_Tatsuki walked hesitantly to Ichigo. The bright haired teen looked at her warily. The last time he had seen her he had tried to push her away, keep her safe from the possibility of… not coming back. Heh, even the memory of that punch made him hurt._

_She stopped a few feet from him, uncharacteristically hesitant. "Um… Ichigo, I…" she didn't continue, didn't look at him until she heard a sigh._

"_Spit it out already, I wanna go home sometime this week." Her head shot up to glare at her childhood friend. If she hadn't known him for so long she would have missed the soft amusement in his eyes._

_She huffed a small relieved breath and her fists came up to rest on her hips._

"_Baka!! I oughta kick your ass all the way there!!"_

_And everything was okay again._

"Hey, Mizuiro, did you get a new tassel?" Apparently Ichigo wasn't in a hurry to get started.

"I haven't been slacking off during the summer you know. Hollows show up in my part of town too," he stated mischievously.

"Oi oi!! I get hollows too you know" Ichigo grasped Zangetsu and raised him a little higher between them. "Anyway, nothing too big, don't wanna frighten the higher-ups."

"Sure, _I'll_ be sure to remember."

"Shut up! Besides, I know you didn't earn it just by killing weak hollows. You've been training!"

"Stop babbling and come at me, you oaf!

"Sensei-kun! At your signal!" Said instructor hesitated, seeing the difference between the two teens.

"Gomen, but—"

"Don't worry about it," said Keigo, grinning. "You shouldn't underestimate Mizuiro."

"Sensei-kun!" sung Mizuiro patiently. The man held out an open hand above their heads. He swung down shouting 'begin' and prepared for the worst.

But it never came. The two lunged to meet each other. Silence overcame the anxious whispers once again.

"How is that possible?" They began. "Shouldn't that shinai be destroyed?!"

They broke apart. The shorter of them retreated less of a distance than Ichigo expected and lunged out again before Ichigo was ready. Mizuiro slid inside Ichigo's guard and crouched, then using the momentum built by his run he jumped at the same time he swung the shinai vertically. If Ichigo hadn't taken a quick shunpo step back he would have been slashed navel to chin.

"You _have_ been practicing," mumbled Ichigo, impressed. They continued. Sensei-kun watched as they traded blows back and forth.

"I see… his power takes the form of a shinai to fool the enemy into overconfidence." His students listened as they watched in awe. "It also seems that while it looks blunt, the boy's power gives it an unseen edge." He looked toward the humans close by, who nodded in acknowledgement of his words.

"How can you tell?" asked a voice.

"Look at Kurosaki-sama's shihakushou. It has obviously been cut by the first attack Kojima-sama executed. A normal shinai couldn't do that."

"But he can't win, just look at him," said another voice. "He is too small, he's not strong enough." Just then Ichigo brought his zanpakutou down sharply at Mizuiro's shoulder. The shorter swiftly brought up his shinai and pushed against Zangetsu to give him enough time to roll out of the way. The force of the missed blow forced Zangetsu to cut into the grass, and delayed him enough to let Mizuiro to his feet again. Ichigo smirked at his friend and yanked his sword from the ground and attacked again.

"What, you think he doesn't know that?" said Fujii. "Look at how Kurosaki-sama always tries to get inside his guard and use his height, but Kojima-sama doesn't allow it. He dodges instead of facing it head on."

Sensei-kun nodded approvingly in his direction. "By dodging, you not only save your own energy, you also use your opponent's attack against him. Expecting to hit something and then _not_ hitting it will throw anyone's balance off. Kojima-san uses this to turn his disadvantage of being smaller into his benefit."

The sensei called the time a few seconds before a bell rand through the air, shocking everyone in the field. The teen's weapons dropped as they gasped for breath.

"When it comes to reiatsu your stronger, but with just sword fighting we're evenly matched," said Mizuiro proudly.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, you tricky baka." Ichigo sheathed Zangetsu and stepped up to the now unarmed Mizuiro. The taller stuck out his elbow and leaned on top of Mizuiro's head, which made protesting noises. He finally just ducked away, causing Ichigo to stumble and almost fall into the grass, but (unfortunately, in Mizuiro's opinion) he caught himself.

"Oi!!" Ichigo grumbled indignantly. They walked to their still lounging friends, close enough to hear Keigo address the zanjutsu instructor.

"So… When's lunch?"

xlxlxlx

"Um… Why are we here again?"

"The noble Kuchiki household has graciously extended their hospitality and you wisely received the kindness."

Ichigo turned to Chad to stage whisper behind his hand, "We did?" He then let out a yelp as his toe began to throb. Rukia glared at him.

"Unless you want to sleep with the apes in the 11th division barracks you'll behave while you are here." At this Ichigo paled considerably and nodded his head, not able to fully suppress the shudder that traveled through his body.

They all stood in a hallway of the guest wing of the Kuchiki estate. There were enough rooms to house all seven of them in their own rooms. They all gazed into the rooms appreciatively.

"Why did the noble Kuchiki house deem it necessary to offer us lowly commoners room and board?" continued Ichigo after a low whistle and the pristine surroundings.

"Obviously because we don't want the whole of Seireitei destroyed because of continuous sparring between you and Zaraki-taichou." grimaced Rukia, and many of them nodded in sympathy.

"Hey, is it my fault the dude is a glutton for bloodshed? I think not."

"Either way, you're staying here for the weekend or I'll—"

"You'll what?" The teen asked smugly. Then shouted curses and clutched his abused toes. Rukia returned his smug look and walked down to the hall to join Orihime (who was currently raging into all the rooms she could find to pick which one she wanted). Ichigo sighed and walked gingerly into the first unoccupied room he came across.

xlxlxlx

Ichigo sighed as he lay down on his futon in his room, ignoring the twinges from his bruised shins that reminded him of the dinner he had come from. 'Tense' could be a word to describe the evening, 'painful' was definitely more accurate. At least, in Ichigo's case it was.

The few attempts at conversation during the meal had all ended inevitably with Ichigo's legs being kicked under the table whenever he said something that apparently was rude. Eventually he gave up on and resorted to silence to save his poor legs from being worn to stumps.

He'd bet Zangetsu that Byakuya's choking incident the first time he had yelped at the sharp kick was not because of his surprise at the sudden noise.

'Bastard…' Ichigo thought darkly.

He lay on his back with his hands behind his head and he looked up to the ceiling, a blank look on his face. He closed his eyes and immediately found himself in his mindscape.

He sighed and made his way toward Zangetsu who stood silently on his favorite perch. Without a word, Ichigo sat and leaned against the cold metal.

"You should find a new place to haunt, old man." His voice echoed, as if his mask was on his face. Here in his mind, the real state of his soul could be seen.

His haired had paled to a platinum blond, not quite white. His shihakushou looked as if he was in bankai mode, the bottom half remained black, but his coat was white with the typical red layer beneath. Black flames rose from the frayed edges, licking at the middle of his back and the ever-present wind that seemed to swirl around Zangetsu affected Ichigo as well, though only here, causing the illusion of the flames being real.

His face was what was the most changed. His left eye was like his hollow's, black and yellow. Red markings that could easily be mistaken for tattoos in a perfect likeness to his hollow's mask had been transferred directly to his skin. Ichigo had never really looked, but he guessed they continued over the rest of his body as well.

"**I wouldn't like to have to find you every time you come to visit."**

"Eh, you're just lazy," said the teen, and he leaned his head back to the pole, a little more harshly than he intended. Zangetsu chuckled at the groan, and he stepped back gracefully from the the pole and settled onto the surface of the building. He circled around to face Ichigo who was gazing at the clouded sky.

"Hey… is it possible to look like this in front of the council tomorrow without hurting anyone?"

"**You have been suppressing the power to seem like you have not changed, correct?" **At a nod from Ichigo he continued. **"Then I could enclose your full power to a layer surrounding you. You must not let people come into contact with you. Touching that layer would kill them. No one other than you could withstand that level of reiatsu." **Ichigo tensed a little before nodding. There was a pause before Zangetsu spoke again,

"**Are you certain you want to reveal this form when it might only make things worse?" **

"If I just keep it a secret now then it's no use getting them to accept us. When they find out later instead of now, they will only see it as a betrayal. Then where would we be?" The teen drew his eyes away from the clouds to look at his soul's counterpart. "It's better to let it out in the open now than to shelter them from the truth. They're big kids, they can handle it." He stretched and stood up, facing Zangetsu equally.

"Anyway, we'll do the switch in the morning. Keep me in control when I sleep, will ya?"

"**Of course." **When Zangetsu was alone again he made his way back to the abandoned pole, thinking that if Soul Society didn't get their heads screwed on straight and think past the old prejudice against Vaizards, that damn Council was going to watch their precious city _burn._

* * *

Yo people!! Sorry it took me so long!! For some reason this gave me a whole lot of trouble and even now, I'm not too sure if I like it after I rewrote it, and then I was sick, so I couldn't do _anything_ but anyway...

This chapter is a over 4,000 words (the longest yet, and they keep getting longer...), so hopefully that makes up for the long wait. I thought I would show off Mizuiro's power since I had to fill up space during the day they all hung out... it kind of seems like a filler to me, but it's necessary information about his power.

And don't worry! The crucial meeting is next chapter and I've already started on it. It's gonna be tough, so left's hope I get it right! (sigh)

Disclaimer is the usual: I don't own Bleach, never will, although Maemi, Benjiro, and Sensei-kun are mine and if you're wonder why he is named Sensei-kun, I was too lazy to think of anything impressive.

And hey! Review! It really motivates me to write to read you guys' comments! ... I know, shameless bribery, but you know how it goes.

Later!


	9. Chapter 9

Calm After the Storm  
Chapter 9

Ichigo took one more glance at himself in the mirror, shrugging at the sensation of his power being held so close to his body.

"Definitely not something I want to do everyday," he grumbled under his breath. He cast a thought into his mind: _'Nobody can tell right?'_

"**No. I have let a certain amount leak through the boundary, but the rest is being restrained. I can only do this for three hours."**

"Gotcha, I can deal with that. Wish me luck." His zanpakuto didn't lower himself to respond.

"Jeez, stingy," said the teen out loud. He sobered, staring at the door that led to the outside world and frightened eyes. He briefly thought of giving up on his plan, the scoffed at himself. It was too late now to retract his decision.

Pounding at the door made him jump in surprise.

"Ichigo! Wake up, lazy!" Rukia. Uncertainty slammed back into him like a bolt lightning. She had never seen him like this. He knew Orihime had told her, but he didn't know how she would take appearance.

"Ichigo, come on!!" He thanked his luck he was in the Kuchiki estate or else she would have walked in on him by now, stomping on him to wake him up.

Thinking quickly he removed Zangetsu from his side and laid him on the futon, then stood beside him, relaxing as much as the tension of the moment allowed, trying to appear unthreatening. He doubted it would work, since he imagined his reiatsu had a faint hollow tinge to it.

"Come in," he said softly. The echo in his voice was not as prominent when he wasn't in his mindscape, but it was still very noticeable.

The door flew open, a testament to the woman's irritation. Rukia opened her mouth to screech at him, and instead choked on her words. She backed out of the doorway, a hand covering her mouth.

"Rukia?" came a voice from the hallway, and Tatsuki peaked her head around the doorframe. Taking in his appearance, she rolled her eyes.

"You really should warn people when you do that." More faces appeared, more eyes rolled. Orihime entered the room and faced Ichigo squarely, hands on her hips.

"Really Ichigo-kun! You nearly scared Rukia-chan to death… or is it life?" A guilty look crossed Ichigo's face briefly, and then a smirk replaced it.

"I didn't know she scared so easily," he challenged, staring hard at Rukia, whose hand had lowered form her mouth.

'_Please…'_

Ichigo picked up Zangetsu, seeing the gesture hadn't really done much to lessen the shock. Not to mention he'd get an earful later for not standing him upright.

Rukia finally registered Ichigo's taunt and her eyes flashed dangerously. _'Oh really?'_ She stalked forward to punch him, hard.

Ichigo realized in time what she was going to do. He shouted 'No!' the same time he backed up quickly to get out of reach. The woman froze in shock at his behavior. He had never _run_ from her.

"You can't touch me right now, Rukia," he warned. "Zangetsu's got all my power bottled up around me, so it's dangerous to get too close. You guys too," he added to the crowd.

It occurred to Rukia suddenly how much power Ichigo truly had at his disposal. To have that power on your shoulders, on any shoulders at all, would be too heavy a load alone. Anyone else besides Ichigo, she thought, would have broken under such responsibility.

Rukia shook herself and glared daggers. "Baka!" she shouted. "You…! Arg!! I hate you! You could have told me first!" Ichigo looked at her oddly.

"Really?" he asked lightly. Rukia opened her mouth, and then closed it again.

"Of course," she returned and Ichigo nodded. He stumbled back as a pillow flew directly into his face.

"Gah!!"

"That's for taunting me you idiot," she huffed and headed out of the room. "I'll go tell the servants to send breakfast over here. Nii-sama has already gone to his office, since it's ten and all."

"Shut it. I couldn't sleep." He plopped down on his futon. The others who had arrived during the scene entered his room lounge and wait for breakfast.

"I figure we could eat and then make our way to the meeting without anyone else seeing you. We don't need to be Ryoka twice in our lifetimes, thank you very much," said Ishida thoughtfully. Others nodded in agreement while Ichigo simply scowled at him.

"She took it better than expected at least," commented Mizuiro.

"I didn't know how to break it to her so I just let her see and decide for herself what she would do," Ichigo stated blandly, and then went on to explain his earlier conversation with Zangetsu the night before.

Breakfast came and went with Rukia, just as it always had.

xlxlxlx

Staring a challenge at the suspicious guards may not have been a good idea. If Rukia hadn't been their escort, Ichigo would have been carted away and executed in ten minute, tops.

In any case, as the humans approached the guards of the second door, Ichigo set a smirk on his face, thinking about the old geezers expressions when they see him.

"This is gonna be good," he said with an almost sadistic edge. He crossed his arms as he allowed the others to enter ahead of him, and then walked through himself, emerging into the brightly lit chamber and his smirk widened at the shocked silence.

He could feel the fear rolling of the council in waves.

"Good afternoon," he said above the growing shouts of anger and indignation for allowing him into the chamber. He looked around at the different faces of the council. "I'm only going to say this once: be careful what you say today because Zangetsu is the only one keeping me from turning you into dust, and he is not very pleased either."

Yamamoto was the first to get over his shock and he called for silence. "Kurosaki, please explain your appearance."

"This is merely how I look when I reach the peak of my power. Yesterday I suppressed this power and consequently I looked the same. Zangetsu is holding back most of my reiatsu around me.

"I'm guessing the next question you would ask is how I got this power in the first place or to be more accurate, what changed… I've thought about that. Zangetsu and I get along well, but the hollow part of me, well, we don't usually see eye to eye. A soul that is divided against itself isn't exactly the most powerful soul I guess. Neither of us wants to spend eternity fighting hollows I can kill by staring at them.

"This is the true form of a Vaizard."

Yamamoto spoke again. "You speak as if this has happened before."

"_Really Kurosaki-kun, you should just give up."_

"_Like hell I will, you bastard," growled a panting Ichigo. He stood before Aizen, Tensa Zangetsu's tip digging into the floor of the throne room. His mask crumbled slowly from his face._

"_It's obvious you can't continue. You are simply too weak to kill me, or even discern illusion from reality," the former captain gazed calmly at the teen. Then faster than Ichigo could see, Aizen closed the gap between them to kick Ichigo across the room into the table, Ichigo grunted at the impact, arching painfully over the surface._

_He barely dodged the swing from the traitor's zanpakutou, stumbling away only to be shoved against the table again from a backhanded blow. _

'_Damn it!!' Ichigo cursed silently, angry with himself for being pushed around._

"_I brought out my bankai to humor you, Kurosaki-kun, not because I thought you could beat me." The Aizen in front of Ichigo faded out._

"_If you haven't noticed already, these illusions, while forcing you to 'see' what I want you to 'see,' will actually physically damage your body instead of simply influencing your mind to 'feel' pain and 'see' me attack. That is my bankai's ability, Kurosaki-kun, and you can not defeat me."_

'King this is getting old,' _whined that voice in Ichigo's head. _

'Shut up. You'll get us killed if you distract me,' _he growled, casting the words into his mind._

'You're already killing us, now get in here. The old man wants to talk to ya!' _Ichigo blinked and he was glaring at Zangetsu and his hollow angrily under a lightning storm._

"What the hell?!" he shouted at Zangetsu once he was facing him. "What's going on? If you haven't noticed, I'm in the middle of a battle out there!"

"**Silence, Ichigo," **Zangetsu approached Ichigo.** _" _You can not beat him as you are." **The teen stood there, shocked, before he growled and pounced on Zangetsu, fisting his hand into the zanpakutou's clothes.

"What's your problem?! I will beat him! I will win!"

_"Hahaha! You're too weak, King, just like Aizen said."_ Ichigo whirled around to face the hollow, but Zangetsu rested his hand on his shoulder.

"**To beat him is not all you want to do Ichigo."** The teen scoffed.

"Great. More puzzles and word games. Come on Zangetsu, give me a break."

"**You do not want to just win." **Ichigo's eyes narrowed. Scenes of past battles flashed through his memory. Rukia hanging while the Hogyouku was extracted, his friends dying one by one, Yachiru seemingly asleep on her father's chest, Inoue's eyes when they had finally found her, a mother and child's final embrace. So many dead, so many.

"I will destroy him."

"So glad you're seeing things my way, King." The hollow held out his hand toward his king. Ichigo clasped the hollow's wrist tightly. He slowly bagan to be absorbed into Ichigo, and he said, _"What good is a king and his horse if they don't work together, eh?" _Ichigo smirked and replied.

"Only half as good as they could be."

_To Aizen it had taken an instant. As red markings slowly grew out on his face, his eye was slowly inked yellow over black,his hair was bleached of its color, Tensa Zangetsu's chain and hilt turned a pure white he knew he had to get serious. The power rolling off the teen was… frightening._

_Mismatched eyes coldly met his own._

"_You never fail to surprise me, Kurosaki-kun."_

"_Well get ready, you sick fuck. You haven't seen anything yet."_

_Ichigo gripped Tensa Zangetsu tightly in two hands before howling wildly into the echoing room and stabbed down into the floor, much like he had done when he destroyed the execution platform all that time ago. The sheer amount of power Ichigo exuded shattered any illusions Aizen had cast._

_Consequently, Las Noches was turned to a pile of rock._

_When the dust settled, Ichigo and Aizen stood under the ever present moon of Hueco Mundo. Aizen's kidou shield splintered._

"_That wasn't very nice," said Aizen. Ichigo smirked and pointed Tensa Zangetsu directly at Aizen's chest._

"_Heh, I'm just getting warmed up. Your illusions don't work anymore, so why don't you quit being a pansy and fight me yourself instead of hiding?"_

"_If you wish." Ichigo disappeared before Aizen finished speaking. He guarded against numerous unseen attacks. _

"_Your shunpo skills are exceptional," Aizen praised between blows._

"_I'm glad you think so." A quick slash left a thin cut on the former taichou's back, another on his arm. "But I'm not using shunpo."_

_Finally Ichigo could detect a crack in the 'nice guy' façade. The smug smile wilted a fraction at the corners; a small crease between his eyes betrayed his thoughts._

_In the blink of an eye, Aizen could sense a focusing of Ichigo's vast power into shunpo. The quiet clinking of a chain betrayed the teen's position. A glimpse of pale hair in front of him was seen before a sharp pain in his shoulder reached his senses. The teen finally stilled for the second it took to murmur the words._

"_Getsuga Tenshou." Dark purple power shot from Tensa Zangetsu in a majestic crescent and bit into Aizen without mercy. The man was thrown back from the blast, his arm gone, his chest shredded beyond repair._

_Ichigo could faintly feel his friends approaching through the rubble of what had been Las Noches. He walked toward Aizen, who was gasping through failing lungs._

"…_You … c-can not… kill… me…" Gripping his zanpakutou firmly, Ichigo plunged Tensa Zangetsu through the dying man's heart. His eyes widened in pain and shock before his breath stop and his eyes glazed._

_Ichigo pulled Tensa Zangetsu from Aizen's chest and turned away. He saw all his mortal friends in the distance, running as quickly as they could through the rubble to reach him. _

_Before he walked away for good, a glint off glass caught his eye. The Hougyoku lay wedged between rocks next to Aizen. Ichigo picked it up and studied it for a moment, and then focused some of his power into the crystal. The invention glowed briefly and burned Ichigo's hand for his effort. He shrugged and tucked it safely into his shihakushou for delivery to Urahara. He would know what to do with it. He turned away from the nightmare that had been his life for the past year for good._

Silence met his recalled memories, stirred for the council's benefit. "We were told the power of the Hougyoku destroyed Las Noches," accused Soi Fon, speaking for the first time.

"Would you have believed me if I told you I did it?" More silence answered him. "Besides, me destroying the execution platform was shocking enough for you. I didn't think you could handle the truth without losing your heads. Plus, how would I explain it?"

"Why did you not tell us you were a Vaizard before," questioned Ukitake. At that Ichigo let out a bark of humorless laughter.

"Please! I've met others like me, and I have to say: you really welcomed them with open arms."

Aizawa stood. "Hirako Shinji and those who followed him broke the laws of Soul Society by illegally attaining the powers of a hollow. Anyone who follows this path is to be exiled from Soul Society."

"So what? It happened, you can't change it and they can't change it, stop whining and get past it already!"

"We can not trust those people. They are part hollow and they would certainly attack if given a chance."

"We are also part Shinigami, in fact more Shinigami than hollow, and we are in complete control of that power. In all this time, have I ever lost control? No. You have no basis for your accusations."

"Our laws are in place to protect Soul Society and the living world from hollows! That is the basis!"

Ichigo's eyes hardened and he retorted coldly. "Bullshit. Your only excuse for exiling Vaizards is prejudice and fear." Indignant shouts echoed though the chamber, from both the Central 46 councilmen and the Gotei heads.

"Boy, we have no reason to fear you or your kind. We are Soul Society, and you can not possibly pose enough of a threat to cause us to fear you."

Keigo spoke, surprising many. "If you are really not afraid of Vaizards, then why exile them in the first place? Why not simply keep them here, under your thumbs instead of isolating them to the one place they could do the most damage!?"

"Hollows have no place in Soul Society!!"

"WE ARE NOT HOLLOWS!!" Roared Ichigo harshly, his temper snapping. "When will you get it?! Do I have to let the bastard out so it can crush the truth into your thick skulls?!" He stepped forward. "If you would actually think for three seconds instead of letting yourselves be blinded by your prejudice, maybe you would understand how absolutely _insane_ Soul Society is being! I mean, can you honestly say I am a threat to you?"

"Your very existence is a threat!"

"Then prove it! What evidence can you use to support that I am a threat to Soul Society?"

"Kuchiki-taichou has reported that during your battle on Soukyoku Hill that you lost control over the hollow inside you," stated Kyouraku evenly. Ichigo looked at him sharply, turning the words over in his mind. Maybe not everyone thought he should be exiled. He looked at Byakuya next, but nothing was revealed on the noble's emotionless face.

"That was simply before I had learned to control it. It was only weeks before that I had regained my Shinigami powers." Aizawa scoffed.

"A simple excuse like that is not good enough to convince this council."

"Then you are a fool. Ask any captain here, even Toushirou the Genius, if they had mastered their skills mere weeks after they had discovered them. No one perfected kidou or manifested their zanpakutou's physical form the first try. I'd say it is even more impressive that I could handle the situation as well as I did. Kidou doesn't fight back.

"You have no idea what I have gone through to get where I am today… well, in terms of power anyway. I don't call being _here_ an accomplishment.

"Should we tally it up? I became a shinigami when I was fifteen. I infiltrated Soul Society and foiled Aizen's plan, calling his betrayal to your attention. I killed Kariya, the Bounto, when he was about to end the world. Infiltrated Las Noches on a _successful _rescue mission and ended up delayed Aizen's plans for it. I fought in the war, along with my friends, and killed Aizen. Wait, let me say it again._ I killed Aizen. _

"And I don't like to hear it but for you, anything. I am 16 years old. Those candles still fit on my cake, people. And be honest: who else can say that before they are able to legally drink they have saved the universe _multiple times?_

"If that doesn't convince you _I'm not a threat_ I don't know what would."

Before Aizawa could argue further, Yamamoto interrupted. "We will take your words into consideration, Kurosaki-san. However, seals are a matter of which there can be no negotiation. Our own taichou and fukutaichou are required to wear a seal when they depart to the living world, and you may not be an exception."

"May I make a request?" interjected Mizuiro, bowing slightly. "Could the seals be made so they may be activated by ourselves and not be made to wait for permission from Soul Society? Meaning no disrespect, but Soul Society can be a little slow in that regard."

Before any interruptions could be voiced, Ishida put in his own two cents. "Kurosaki is the only one of us that doesn't have a hold on his own power. We don't leak power the way Kurosaki does, so we don't need a constant monitor."

Ichigo crossed his arms indignantly and mumbled something under his breath (it sounded like 'traitor', but the others couldn't be sure). Inside he was actually somewhat happy that he would be getting a seal. He never wanted to be responsible for someone else's double life troubles again and he would do anything to prevent that from happening.

The judges conversed amongst themselves, and then one gave a subtle nod to Yamamoto. The soutaichou turned to the teens and said, "Very well. Kurotsuchi-taichou will accompany you to his division and administer the seals after this meeting is finished and an hour before sunset we will meet again to pronounce the council's decision. Dismissed."

Ichigo and the others gave small bows and then left the building while the 12th division taichou left his vote with Yamamoto. They waited outside for Kurotsuchi and when he met them he stared at them all for a long moment, and met glares in return.

"I will leave my fukutaichou to lead you to my division. I must make a few adjustments to my seals, since you have deemed it necessary to change the council's decisions," and with that he left without another word.

Keigo mumbled under his breath, "You'd think they would give some lunch before they carted us off to the branding station."

Kurotsuchi Nemu appeared from where her father/creator had disappeared and bowed to them. She started walking with a brief 'this way' and everyone followed. The main conversation on the way was how freaky the obviously crazy taichou could get. The consensus was 'He gives Ichimaru Gin a run for his money." Nemu didn't say a word.

After at least half an hour of walking later they arrived at the 12th division, and another fifteen minutes of walking through twisting corridors brought them to a lab currently occupied by none other than the division's taichou. He ordered them in impatiently.

"One at a time you will come to me and receive your seals," he said curtly, apparently in a bad mood. "Since I have been forbidden to perform any experiments on you humans I want you out of my labs as fast as possible."

Everybody gulped.

"These seals are specially made to mold themselves to your powers after they have been applied. You each may choose where to have them applied. They will appear to be real tattoos in the real world.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, you will have a new seal I have created based off the seal that commoner taichou has." Kurotsuchi pointed at Ishida. "Quincy, you first," the scientist barked shortly. Ishida put on a very good impression of Ichigo's scowl and walked forward reluctantly. He stuck out his right arm, his palm facing up.

"On my wrist." Without saying anything else, the taichou grabbed Ishida's wrist tightly, making the teen wince a little (probably more from disgust than pain) and listened to the man mumble a chant to himself.

Ishida felt a stinging sensation on his wrist and as the taichou removed his hand the Quincy Zeichen appeared, centered on his pulse point and stretched across the inside of his wrist.

"Predictable," said Kurotsuchi smugly and Ishida walked back to the silent group behind him. He briefly showed them his wrist then placed his hands in his pockets.

The scientist pointed at Tatsuki. She walked forward and she pointed to her left forearm, not sparing any words for the man. She had heard he wanted to experiment on Orihime when they had been ryoka. Kurotsuchi repeated his actions and drew his hand away to reveal six scar-like lines forming three closely linked 'X's.

They each went in turn. Chad got his on his right upper arm, opposite his existing tattoo. It was a replica of his shield's hollow features.

Keigo chose to have his seal between his shoulders. It turned out to be a ringed target circle. The bullseye was torn from a bullet hitting.

Mizuiro stepped forward. His left shoulder was soon adorned with what looked to be a copy of his shinai's cross guard and four tassels, what it would look like when he earned his last. They looked like wind chimes if you didn't know better.

Inoue chose to put her seal on the back of her right shoulder. It was a vine bearing the six flowers of her power: a daisy, a plum blossom, a lily, a cherry blossom, an iris, and a camellia. It was small, only the size of her hand, but vividly detailed.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, because you have no control over your power while occupying your body, I have modified your seal to appeal more to the living world's tastes than Zaraki's model. Give me your arm."

"I'd like to keep it, thanks," he said. It was excusable considering who he spoke to. Instead of replying, the irritated taichou grabbed for Ichigo's arm, but the teen's quick reflexes prevented that. "No matter how much I'd like to fry you inside and out, I don't think it'd go over too well if another taichou up and died. Give me a minute."

Ichigo closed his eyes and after a brief chat with Zangetsu his hollow markings faded from his skin, his hair and shihakushou darkened, his eye turned to the original white and brown and Tensa Zangetsu turned back to his shikai form. He was the same old Ichigo again.

"Have at it," he said and thrust his left arm towards the taichou. He immediately clasped a bracelet to his wrist. Ichigo lifted his arm to inspect it. The bracelet was actually a smaller scale version of the chain that is attached to Tensa Zangetsu's hilt. One side of a link was hinged to allow for the other link to be slipped through.

Despite his dislike for the 12th division taichou, Ichigo had to admire the seal. He could also feel a significant difference in his power, feeling… 'something' around him slowly fading away.

"Woah," said Tatsuki, obviously impressed.

"Dude, you don't have an aura anymore," said an equally awestruck Keigo. Ichigo kicked him.

"So that's that," Mizuiro swiped at his bangs.

They left the division labs and went to find Rukia and Renji to show off their seals.

They were kind of cool, after all.

xlxlxlx

After a tense, nervous lunch (they hardly ate anything) Ichigo was called to the chamber for the last time. The others wanted to go with him, but the guards would not let them in. Ichigo reassured them and walked confidently between the guards. He felt anything but confident; it took most of all he had to make it down the hall without his legs giving out.

He reached the end of the hall and took a deep breath, fisting his hands to hide their shaking. His face was a careful mask of carelessness, his best defense against the council. He stopped before the souls looking down on him from their seats. Aizawa stood smugly behind his desk and looked down on Ichigo.

Not a good sign.

"It has been decided that the substitute shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo be exiled from Soul Society and banished to the living world for the rest of his existence."

Not a sound was heard as Ichigo digested these words. He looked at each and every souls in that room, taking his time, seeing in each one the satisfaction or regret in their faces. Some squirmed under his steady, accusing gaze.

"Are you sure?" Ichigo asked. He received no answer. He nodded slowly. "I guess I have no choice then. I don't want to hear from you again. I will continue to protect my home from hollows. I will protect it from shinigami if necessary. Do _not_ come to me if you end up in another war. I won't help and I doubt any of my friends will either." He lifted his arm and jingled his wrist a little. "Thanks for the parting gift."

He bowed mockingly and turned and walked out.

* * *

AAAHHH!! So sorry!! It's been forever, I know! So sorry!

I would like to take a moment to mourn for Ichigo... I'm such a bad person... but the reason I did this was 1) the council would not change it's ways for Ichigo, I think, because they are too pretentious and puffed up about winning the war, especially this new council and 2) because the war had just ended and they were afraid if they let him go then they would have to worry about another war... crazy right? So I decided the logical reasoning (or lack thereof) won over the hoped for and very much desired happy ending. I fought a war of my own coming to terms about exiling Ichigo. I love him!! I hate to see him exiled like this. -sigh- I can't win... which is part of the reason I was soooo late in updating, I just couldn't decide if I really _should_ exile him.

Zeichen equals symbol in german, just so you know. That's what Ishida refers to it as in the manga.

I hope you all liked the tattoos I thought up. I could not think of anything decent for Mizuiro. If you have a suggestion, let me know, I'm not sure I like his, so I'll change it if I like your idea. Those took me a long time too.

AND!! I have decided to draw a version of Ichigo is his vaizard form so be on the lookout in my bio for a link.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach and its AWESOMENESS!!

There will probably be one more chapter, making it an even 10, we'll see. Plus I have some ideas for a sequel!

Let me know what you all think!!


	10. Epilogue

Calm After the Storm  
Epilogue

The hollow roared its defiance one last time before it disintegrated. Ichigo glimpsed for an instant the soul that had been inside the shell of instinct, and then she too disappeared.

Zangetsu was replaced on Ichigo's back and he was walking away, weaving through the confused passers by unfortunate enough to be caught between a hollow and its prey.

A soul was trembling nearby, huddled behind the flimsy protection of a street light post, his chain rattling brightly. The boy was maybe thirteen years old and he was dripping wet, a testimony to the way he had died. Swim trunks and a transparent shirt told where he had been as well. Ichigo crouched down in front of him and the boy lifted his head to stare at Ichigo.

"Who're you and what's with the crazy costume?"

"Nice to see you again, Takeshi. How the heck did you manage to end up dead?!" Ichigo lifted the boy to his feet by his shoulders and proceeded to dust him off. Takeshi, apparently over the shock, slapped Ichigo's hands away.

"I… I slipped at the pool and fell in. And how do you know my name?" Ichigo ignored the question.

"Why weren't you being watched?!" Takeshi turned his head to the side, clearly trying to avoid Ichigo's hard stare and muttered something.

"Speak up, kid. What happened?"

"I snuck in at night, okay!?" The orange haired Shinigami stare at the boy in shock, then shook his head mournfully.

"I can't believe it. He's a delinquent! My great-grandson is a delinquent!"

"What are you talking about, mister? You're insane! I ain't related to you! My great-grandpa was 91 when he finally kicked the bucket."

"Thanks for the sympathy, really. Anyway, you were only six the last time you saw me so I don't expect you to remember."

"Well then why _do_ you look so young?"

"It's complicated, but you'll figure it out soon enough." Ichigo reached for Zangetsu once again and hefted him in front of Takeshi. "You have to go to Soul Society now, where all souls go."

"Wait... if everyone goes there, what about you?!" A pained look flashed across Ichigo's face, and then his face was carefully blank.

"I guess you'll hear about that too. Do you remember my name?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo," Takeshi recalled, relying on memories of past talks after dinner about his somewhat eccentric great-grandfather.

"Good, if you remember that, then you can probably find out anything you want about me when you get older. You have to go now."

"What if I wanna stay here like you?"

"Trust me, kid, you don't want to 'stay here like me.' It's boring." Before Takeshi could voice anymore complaints Ichigo stamped his forehead gently and soon the boy was gone, accompanied by a pitch black swallowtail butterfly. It fluttered around Ichigo's head before it too left to escort Takeshi to his new life.

The grief Ichigo had desperately been holding back at seeing yet another loved one die finally crept its way into his heart. Even when he knew it would bring him pain eventually, Ichigo kept tabs on his steadily growing family, making sure they lived well and never wanted for anything.

However, Ichigo knew another minute of hesitation and he would never have sent Takeshi to Soul Society, the need to speak to another soul besides the Vaizards and those at Urahara's shop was overwhelming.

Kami knows it had happened before.

The exiled shinigami tried to breathe around the stone lodged in his chest and slung Zangetsu once more onto his back.

He needed to get drunk tonight.

He needed to forget.

Tada!! Finally, it's over!! Whew!

Guess what!! I have been thinking about a sequel, What do you guys think?? I have a basic idea so far, so you have to let me know and suggestions are greatly appreciated!

I would like to thank all the people who have read and reviewed this fic. You will never know how amazing you all are! Thanks also for the support along the way; I couldn't have made it without you guys!!

See ya soon!!


	11. Authors Note

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!!!!!!**

Hey all!!!!!

I know that it's been a long time waiting for the sequel to 'Calm After the Storm.' I know I am just as impatient to getting it to you as you are to read it!

I mentioned several times in my notes in previous chapters that there really was no plan to CAtS and since I want to make it's sequel that much better, I am taking a lot of time to figure out the plot and the outline so that I don't disappoint all of you. I am also trying to improve my style to get more detail out, and to reveal more of the characters' thoughts on the situation.

Unfortunately (for you!!!!) I am going on vacation, the first time in a _long_ time, so I won't post the sequel for a while. Hopefully I will have the prologue out in April, so that will be fun!!! It's a long drive, so I plan on writing a lot on the way, and back.

And just a warning… the prologue is a lot like a prelude… it's pretty lengthy, but I hope the content will make it up to those with a pet peeve for long prologues.

Now, since you all have been waiting so patiently for the sequel, here is a sneak peek at the first chapter, when the plot gets going, so without further ado…

'_Contagion' - - Excerpt of Chapter 1_

…Byakuya looked hard at the seemingly relaxed man inadvertently confusing the hell out of him.

"You are not the same Kurosaki I remember." This elicited a scoff before they jumped over a few rooftops. Ichigo replied with a distinct note of bitterness in his voice.

"You expected an arrogant brat, screaming profanities and cursing the world for causing all his misfortunes? Please, am I perpetually sixteen? I grew up. I married, had kids, lost loved ones. Some of them I sent to you guys myself..."

_End_

Heeheeheehee!!! I hope that gets you excited to read!

I admit though that it might have been a _little_ evil on my part, but, oh well!!!

See you all again in April!!!

_isphira_


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